The Spirit Detective Archives: Demon Tournament
by CoreyKartana
Summary: The second book of The Spirit Detective Archives. Corey, Derek and Jade travel to the Demon World, having the honor of attending the Demon Realm Tournament. The two heroes are trained by familiar faces, and Corey is stalked by a mysterious cloaked being.
1. The Warriors Reunited

**Chapter 1**

_The Warriors Reunited_

"Damn, I'm bored…" yawned a restless Corey Kartana. The young man, seventeen years of age, was trying his hardest not to fall asleep in his History class. As the teacher rambled on about something to do with the Civil War, Corey couldn't help but let is eyes trail off towards the open window. It didn't help his mood to find rain pouring down outside school.

Corey Kartana was wearing his usual garments: a black t-shirt, a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, and a leather jacket. His brown hair was slicked back into spikes, and he had a brown goatee, as well, with a hint of Irish red on the sides of it. His palm was supporting his chin, and his elbow was pressed against the desktop. His eyes wandered over to the clock.

_2:20…only five minutes left of class…come on, you bastard…change!_ As time slowly clicked on, Corey thought he was going to go insane of boredom, until finally, after what seemed an eternity, the bell rang. Grinning, Corey grabbed his backpack and ran out the door and into the parking lot of the school. He walked through the aisles of cars until he found his Subaru. It was a white car, small, but at least it was decent and got good gas mileage. He got in and as quickly as he could leave the parking lot of his high school.

_Not much has changed since that day six months ago…when we beat Shura and saved the world…_ Corey often found himself reminiscing about the past and his "case" against Shura. The boy was still the Spirit Detective of Earth, along with his best friend Derek Maison, who was also a demon. Normally their missions involved destroying demons, but there were always exceptions to demons. They could be good or bad.

Once they had defeated Shura, life went back to normal for the most part. Every so often, Kurama would inform them of a case, but they were all so simple compared to the world changing adventure they had when they fought the demon dictator.

Corey felt himself getting bored as time went by. He figured it was because he had all this new power that he had received from Yusuke to defeat the Demon Lord, and nothing to use it against. It also didn't help that Derek was spending a lot of time with the demon thief, Jade. Although he had not seen them actually do anything except kiss, he wondered if they were dating or not. Neither of the two demons told him anything, which was beginning to piss him off.

_Whatever…I gotta meet Derek anyways back at the old meeting spot. We have to figure out what were going to do concerning the tournament. _

There had been one condition for Corey receiving the spiritual energy of the half demon Yusuke Urameshi, and that was that both he and Derek had to participate in what was called the Demon Realm Tournament. Since he was part demon thanks to an ancestor named Raizen, Corey was allowed to join the fight. Derek was full demon, so there was no problem there.

_I just wonder what our chances are… there's going to be demons just like Shura there and stronger, and we barely beat Shura. Things are going to get interesting fast, I can tell._

******

Corey arrived at the base of Mt. Solo, and climbed out of his car slamming the door as he got out. He climbed the beat down trail that he and Derek had created years ago, hands in his pockets as he does. It wasn't to steep so he didn't have to worry about falling backwards. The path up was quite beautiful. Greenery everywhere the eye could see. Trees, bushes, plants; everything one would expect from a Northwest town.

Corey made it up the hill and was heading over to the point when he spotted Derek, but he wasn't alone. In fact, it was Jade who was with him. Go figure. The two had been glued together ever since they got back from Spirit World.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" he asked loudly. Even though the two were just holding hands and sitting, they still jumped up and looked at him.

"Corey!" Derek exclaimed, as if surprised to see his friend there. Derek was wearing street clothes just like Corey was. A blue t-shirt and jeans, a pair of tennis shoes, and a backwards baseball cap. Jade was wearing clothes that a normal human would be wearing. A white blouse, pair of cargo pants, tennis shoes, and her hair was up in a ponytail.

"Hello, Corey." She said with that usual mischievous smile.

"Hey there, Thief." Corey replied, calling her by his usual nickname towards her. He then looked over at Derek, "Bringing thieves up to the spot, eh?"

Derek turned slightly red. It still embarrassed him when Corey dissed him about Jade, for whatever reason. He didn't mind Jade at all anymore, but it was still enjoyable to make fun of them.

"Shut up, Corey. What are you doing here?" he asked hastily.

"What do you mean? We're supposed to go meet Kurama about the tournament! Do you honestly think we'd stand a chance against the demons there as we are now?" Corey smirked, "Well…I might, but you…well, you'd be screwed."

"What!?" Derek yelled, tightening his grip into a fist, "Without me, you would have been dead because of Shura!"

"You cheap-shotted him! I could have easily beaten him!"

"Bull-shit! You would have been killed!"

"You'd have died first!"

"Boys, boys!" Jade interrupted, stepping between us. Through out the insults, the two had moved right up towards each other, and if Jade hadn't step in, there would have been flying fists in a moment, "You both beat Shura, okay?"

"Hmph…" Derek said, crossing his arms a crossed his chest.

"Anyways…" Corey said, frowning, hands in his pockets, "We have to go meet Kurama in like an hour. He's going to explain our training conditions to us. I told you this."

"Oh…right. Well, lets go." Derek replied, seeming completely clueless about the whole thing. He and Jade then began to walk down the hill.

"You love sick dumb ass…" Corey said quietly, rubbing in between his eyes in annoyance and following after them.

******

Corey pulled up to an apartment building in the middle of the town, and got out of the car. Derek was pulling in next to him, and he and Jade then got out as well. The three walked up to the apartments, and went over to room number 8. Corey held out his hand and knocked on the front of the door, and they all waited.

"Come in." Came a voice from inside, and they did just that. The apartment was fairly decent sized. There were two couches against the wall in the living room, and what looked to be a 30" TV in an entertainment system. The blinds were closed, and a single light was on above the room. It looked like there was a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom as well, but it was unseen at the moment. Sitting on the couch was Kurama. The red-haired demon was wearing a sports jacket and slacks, and a white button shirt. He smiled at the three of them. It had been about three months since they were in contact with each other.

"Corey, Derek, Jade. Nice to see you three again." He said, smiling and standing up from the couch, shaking each of their hands as he said their names.

"Hey, Kurama. How's it going?" Corey asked, also smiling.

"Everything's well. I assume you three got your paychecks for the month?" he asked, and the three nodded. Jade was also made Spirit Detective, since Koenma did not want her to go back to a life of crime. Koenma was the prince of the Spirit World, son to King Yama.

Spirit World paid pretty well, especially since for the past two months they haven't even had a single case. The last one was hardly even worth the effort. A C-Class demon was starting a rebellion group, so Derek and Corey easily took care of that. Still, getting paid nearly $3000 a month was pretty good for a seventeen and an eighteen year old.

"Okay, Kurama, we've waited long enough. From what you've told me, the Demon World Tournament is happening in a year, and we haven't lifted a finger to train!" Corey complained, and then grinned, "I'm going there to win it after all. I'm gonna be king of the demons!" He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded.

Derek laughed, "Yeah right. You're a human. You can't be a demon king. I don't even know why you're even allowed in this competition."

"What?! They asked me because I'm related to Yusuke, that's why! That makes me demon enough!" Corey replied, glaring over at Derek.

"It's true," said Kurama, "Corey is a distant relative of Yusuke, and a descendent of Raizen, making him a partial demon. Also, considering his strength, I doubt many will complain. All the strong demons in the tournament are always looking for a good challenge." He smirked at all of them.

"So who're we training with? Am I with you and Corey with Gero again?" Derek asked, glancing over at Corey and Jade, and then back at Kurama, who actually shook his head.

"No. Actually, Corey will train with Yusuke." He replied.

"Really?" Corey asked, blinking. "Is he up for it? I mean he did give me all of his spiritual power." To his surprise, Kurama began to chuckle, "What's so funny?"

"You forget, Corey, Yusuke is pure demon now. He will be more then a good teacher for you…there is a condition, though."

"What?" Corey asked, frowning again. The last condition Yusuke had given him got him stuck into fighting in this tournament in the first place.

"He didn't tell me, but I'm sure it is fair." Kurama informed him, causing the young man to grumble.

"What about me?" Derek asked again. Kurama turned his attention onto him now, and smiled.

"You will be training with Hiei Jaganshi and Mukuro, and their son, Dia."

"Whoa. Wait. Who the hell is Hiei?" Derek asked. Jade looked at him as though he was insane.

"You're kidding me! You don't know who Hiei is?!" she asked quickly. Both Corey and Derek shook there heads, "You two are crazy! How can you not know Hiei??"

"Sounds like you're his groupie, Thief…" Corey commented, grinning a bit as Jade glared at him.

"He and Mukuro are two of the strongest demons in all of Demon World!" she yelled at him. Corey gave her a blank look.

"Who?"

"You don't even know who Mukuro is?!"

"Eh…doesn't ring a bell…"

"Corey, I explained who she was to you…" Kurama told him.

"Like I remember…" Corey said, moving from the front of the door and sitting down on the couch. Derek followed in suit, and they left an infuriated Jade to grumble and lean against a wall.

"Anyways…" Kurama said, getting their attention to him, "Everything is all set up for you three to leave in three days."

"Three days?!" Derek asked in a hurry.

"Us three?!" Corey said right after, looking over at Jade. "Don't tell me she's going, too!"

"Of course I am!" Jade said, smirking at him now, "I will be training with my old teacher, so don't worry about me bugging you, Corey." Corey grumbled and then looked back at Kurama.

"So…what? Are you doing that exchange student shit again like you did when I trained with Gero?" Corey asked, and Kurama nodded his head.

"Yes. You two did so well that the institute you were at before wants you to come back. Spirit World has already cleared it with the school, and your mother will have received the message in the mail today." He moved over and looked at the three of them carefully,

"You three are going to be competing in one of the most dangerous competitions ever known. I don't have to tell you to be careful." The three nodded, "Good. Now, go home and rest. Corey, I will actually be meeting at your house tonight with your mother to explain the situation. I'll see you there."

They all nodded, and shook hands with Kurama again and then left the apartment. After a short good-bye from Derek and Jade, Corey went to his car and started to drive home.

"Like I said…it's going to get interesting pretty fast…" he said as he drove down the road.

******

Two days went by quickly for Corey. His mother was just as excited for him as she was the first time. Kurama made an excellent "teacher" for her, so she of course agreed. Corey was the one who had to tell Liz about what was going on. She, too, was a Spirit Detective, and wasn't happy that she was being left out of the tournament. It took Kurama to finally get her to realize that there was no way she could go since, well, she wasn't a demon. It also worked out so that she could continue to protect the city while they were away for the next twelve months.

******

As his last day lagged on slowly though school, Corey found himself with the urge to just not go to his last class, which was Spanish. His mother had finally made him take a foreign language, and he wasn't too happy about it.

"Not like I need it where I'm going…" He mumbled as he began to walk off campus. He figured maybe a burger would help him get back on the subject of fighting demons, so he started walking to the local burger joint. As he walked down the sidewalk, he suddenly felt the urge to stop. He glanced around slowly, a serious look on his face.

_I'm being followed? By who?_ He thought to himself. _A demon? No…I would have been able to sense him…unless he was a lot stronger then the normal trash that come around here. Damn…_

He slowly put his hands in his pockets and walked in a different direction then the burger place. He took a few odd routes into the city, all the while feeling eyes upon him. It made his spine shiver, since he couldn't pin point where or what it was. He finally made his way into an ally, and headed to the very back of it, where a wall was. He stopped and turned around, and winced as he saw a man draped in black robes behind him.

"Can I help you?" Corey asked, hands still in his pockets and a glare in his eyes. The figure didn't move, but held up a hand. He pointed at Corey, and just the way he did it made his skin crawl.

"You…" came a raspy voice from the robes. His face was covered as well, so there was no way for Corey to decipher what kind of demon or human this guy was, "You are Corey Kartana, are you not?"

"Yea…who wants to know?" Corey snapped at him. This guy creeped him out, and he honestly did not want to be there at the moment. The man then began to laugh hoarsely.

"Corey Kartana…good luck, in the Demon World Tournament." He started to laugh again. Never one for patience, or an annoying laugh, Corey had had enough.

"Okay, pal, if you don't start answering my questions, I'm gonna kick your ass!" The being did not stop his laughter. Corey then ran at him, fists balled up. He stopped inches away from the man and brought up his fist in a motion to punch him right where his face should be, but at the moment the contact should have been delivered, all Corey felt was air.

"What?!" he asked, stumbling a bit, but quickly regaining his balance. He looked around quickly, trying to find the hooded man, but could not.

_Who the hell was that? How'd he know me?_ With one final shiver, Corey left the ally way, unsure on what had just happened, or how it was going to affect him later.

******

"Are you all ready to go?" Asked Kurama, smiling. It was later that day, and Corey, Derek, and Jade were all back in Kurama's apartment, standing and waiting for instructions.

Corey hadn't told anyone about the incident from earlier, not even Derek. Something about it just seemed to weird. They had all packed lightly; Corey with the training Gi that he used to train with Gero in, Derek had his robes from the fight with Shura, and Jade had a backpack filled with who knew what. She wouldn't tell any of them, not that Corey cared. Kurama then stood and nodded,

"All right. I will now open the portal to the Demon Realm. I believe that representatives of both Yusuke and Hiei will be waiting for you two, Corey and Derek. Jade, I assume you know where you're going." She nodded, "Good. Well, here we go."

The red haired demon turned around and went to a nearby closet and opened it. What was in it wasn't a coat, but a blue and black vortex. The colors spiraled around each other quickly. A slight suction was felt coming from the portal, as well.

"So…that's the entrance to Demon World…" Corey repeated, and looked over at Derek and Jade, smirking, "Ready for a fun ride?"

"Yea…let's do this." Derek said, pounding his fist into his palm, grinning. Jade smirked and went over to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek, causing him to turn red. Corey sighed and shook his head.

"What was that for?" Derek asked after a few moments. She smiled at him,

"Because…I wont see you for twelve months. That's why." She winked, grabbed her bag, and leapt into the portal. Once entering, she quickly disappeared. Derek gave a sad look to Corey, who returned it with a punch in the arm.

"Quit whining! We're fighting in a tournament of demons. Get pumped!" he grinned at him. Derek laughed and nodded,

"Good point. See you on the other side!" and with that he grabbed his own things and leapt in, disappearing just as quickly as Jade had. Corey looked over at Kurama and grinned, giving him a half salute.

"Catch ya later, Kurama." He said.

"Good luck, Corey. Give Yusuke my regards." Kurama replied, and Corey nodded. He grabbed his own bag, took a breath, and then leapt into the portal.


	2. The Castle of Stone

**Chapter 2**

_The Castle of Stone_

As Corey traveled through the portal, it felt as though his body was being tossed in all different directions, all at the same time. It was an odd sensation, and definitely not like that of Kurama's transporting plant. The ride only lasted about 30 seconds until Corey felt himself being spit out of the vortex and onto the ground. He stumbled, but regained his footing and looked around what he was assuming was the Demon World.

The sky itself was the first thing that Corey noticed. It was a light red color, and lightning could be seen sparking in the far distance at random, even though there weren't any clouds around. There wasn't any grass or trees, at least not where he was. It was all stone and sand. He looked around to see if he could spot Derek or Jade, but whom he found wasn't either of them, but a tall man in oriental robes. He was completely bald, and staring directly at Corey.

"Can I help you?" Corey asked after a moment's hesitation. Of course, the last person he had asked that to taunted him into attack. The bald man smiled gently.

"Corey Kartana, I presume? My name is Hokashin. I am second in command to Lord Urameshi. Come, he is expecting you." He turned and began to walk away, leaving Corey to just stand there.

"Uh…sure. Whatever…" he said quietly, grabbing his bag and flinging it over his right shoulder following after Hokashin.

_Talkative fellow…_ he thought to himself while they walked.

******

"Jesus, how much farther?" Corey whined, scratching the back of his head. They had already been walking for four hours, and the scenery hadn't changed at all. He was walking at the same pace as Hokashin, only a few steps behind him. For the first time, he heard the demon laugh.

"We still have another day's worth of traveling left to do, Corey."

"What?! A whole day! Aren't we going to stop and rest…or eat?" he asked in a desperate tone. After four hours of walking, the teenager was getting hungry, which was understandable.

"Yes," Hokashin replied, "In about three more hours, we will rest for awhile, then continue onward. I hope you don't mind only getting a few hours of sleep." Corey merely grumbled as they continued on.

******

The two finally took a rest near a deep canyon after a few more hours had gone by. Hokashin had started a fire. It was the first area Corey had seen since he arrived that actually had forestry. Although it was hard to tell, there were nights in Demon World, even though there was no sun or moon. Only the temperature was different, and the sky seemed to darken. A cold breeze filled the air outside of the area that the flames of the fire kept warm. Corey was munching on some kind of meat that Hokashin had brought. The older demon merely stirred the flames with a stick.

"Hey Hokashin?" Corey asked, after some time went by.

"Yes?"

"What's Yusuke like? I mean…really like? I only talked to him for maybe ten minutes last time we met, and that was all business."

"Ah." He replied, smiling and setting down the poker stick, "Well, Lord Urameshi has changed a lot since I first met him. When he arrived in Demon World, back when his father was still alive, he was full of heart and determination…actually, a lot like you. He was like this until his wife, Keiko, passed away. After that he slowly became depressed. He completely stopped fighting, a passion of his since the moment I met him, and merely stayed in his quarters."

"Oh…" Corey said quietly. He did recall Yusuke getting depressed when he mentioned Keiko, "So…he's all business then?" To his surprise, Hokashin smiled and shook his head.

"Not anymore. Not since, well, he met you and became full demon. He regained the spark that he had once lost in his eyes. I believe he is excited to see what you, and he himself, can do."

The whole aspect of fighting the great Yusuke Urameshi intrigued Corey. Not since Shura could he even consider flexing his powers to there full capacity, and now that he was in the Demon World, he wouldn't have to worry about innocent bystanders.

"Well… let's see just what he can do. I think I might have a few surprises for him…what?" Corey asked, frowning as he saw Hokashin laughing at him.

"Nothing…it's just you reminded me of both Lord Urameshi and King Raizen. Yusuke said the exact same thing when he first arrived in the Demon World."

"And what happened?"

"Raizen beat him to a pulp."

Corey gave him a dark look, "Thanks for your support…"

******

"Here it is, Corey Kartana. Lord Urameshi's castle." If Corey knew how to whistle, he would. For now, though, all he did was gape at the structure before him.

It was carved entirely out of stone, but in front of him was an entire kingdom. He could see stone huts with people wandering in and out of them. In the very center was a large tower, which seemed to go up for nearly half a mile.

"I take it that's where Yusuke is?" Corey asked, glancing over at a nodding Hokashin.

"Correct. Follow me, please." Hokashin then proceeded to lead him through the kingdom. The demon townsfolk couldn't help but stare at Corey as he walked passed them. Corey merely gave them all a smirk, as he read their power levels as he went by.

_So far, most of these people are hardly B and C class demons. There's a few A, but no S at all. I guess they're just normal townsfolk. I was kinda hoping the whole place was full of fighters._ Continuing to nod and smile pleasantly at people, they finally made there way to the castle doors. The door was, as per it's walls, made out of pure stone, but Hokashin opened it was ease.

"Follow the stairway to the top floor and room. There you will find Lord Urameshi."

"Hey, Hokashin. You keep calling him 'lord'. Why is that? I thought you all had a king?" Corey asked, but Hokashin merely smirked.

"I have called your cousin 'lord' since King Raizen's death. Also, if you remember correctly, you killed our king. 'Governors' of the kingdoms, if you will, took control until the next tournament."

"Oh…" Corey said, rubbing the back of his head. "Right." He then turned from the demon and nodded, stepping through the doorway and up the long, spiraling stone stairs.

After what seemed like a million steps of stairs, Corey finally made his way to the top of the tower. He took a moment to catch his breath, and then looked at the two doors in front of him.

_So…Yusuke's in here…_

With one last nod, Corey put both hands on the door and pushed it open, walking inside. The room was dark. That was the first thing Corey noticed. A small window and a few candles lit the room, but that was about it. With a look to his left, Corey saw a small shrine, lit by candles. In the center of the shrine was a beautiful woman.

_That must be Keiko…_ he thought, and then looked at the center.

There was a hooded man sitting on a throne. Corey could not see his face, and only his hands showed outside the cloak that he wore. Corey's first thought was that it was the hooded man that he met back in Human World, but as he stood he knew that couldn't be right. The creature he met was much taller then the man before him now.

"Corey Kartana. Welcome." He said, walking towards him and extending his hand in greeting. "I am Yusuke Urameshi."

_The voice doesn't match either…that's a relief._ Corey smirked and grabbed his hand to shake it, but instead of a light handshake, Yusuke lifted Corey off the ground and threw him into the stone wall to the left.

"Guh!" Corey sputtered as the sheer force of his body made a crack in the wall. There was actually a delay of time as Corey slid off the wall and down onto the floor. He stood himself up, and glared.

"Helluva welcome!" Corey yelled out, folding his hands into fists, "What was that for?!" Yusuke stepped forward, still not taking off the hood of his robes.

"I believe Kurama told you that you will have a test before I train you, and here it is." He extended his arms full width, "You must lay one hit on me, be it punch, kick or anything else, within two hours time. If you can do so, I'll train you." This didn't exactly make Corey any happier about being thrown into a wall, but he nodded with a smirk,

"All right…fine. I'll play along." He began to run towards him, "But don't come crying to me when you get your face pounded in!"

The teen ran right up to Yusuke and attempted to deliver a hard right hook right into the side of Yusuke' s face, but the older demon merely moved out of the way with elegance, then spun, giving a sweeping right kick right into Corey's ribs, causing him immense pain. With a kick like that, a normal person would have been either knocked down or killed, but Corey did not move. He brought his arms around Yusuke's leg and held his foot there, grinning up at him.

"Now your mine!" He brought his own foot up to kick Yusuke in the side, but the old detective anticipated it. Just as Corey should have made contact, Yusuke flung his body vertically, getting hang time in the air. He not only avoided being hit, but now his other foot was directly over Corey's head, which he brought down upon it, forcing the boy to let go and fall hard on the ground. Yusuke took a step back, and stood over Corey.

"It won't be that simple, boy." Yusuke commented, which angered Corey. He jumped up and rubbed the back of his head, then got back into his fighting pose.

"I ain't giving up! I'm planning on kicking your ass and everyone else's in the tournament, becoming King of the Demons!" he yelled, grinning. Yusuke suddenly began to laugh, making Corey's grin fade,

"You're a simple child. Do you honestly think you can beat any of the competitors in the tournament?" Corey stood up straight, let a quick moment pass, and then nodded. No smart-ass comment, no insult, just a nod.

"Yes…I do."

"Well, then," Yusuke said, holding up his own fists now, "Let's continue."

******

One hour and fifty minutes had passed, and Corey still had not laid a single attack onto Yusuke. His lip was bleeding, as was his mouth. His ribs were bruised and he was covered in scrapes from being thrown onto the ground, but he kept getting up every time. His energy was nearly nothing, running around so much and having to defend after every single attack, and yet Yusuke seemed completely unfazed. His hood was still on, as well.

"Ten minutes left." Yusuke informed him, but Corey didn't respond. He hadn't spoken a word for the last hour.

_I wonder if he's given up._ Yusuke thought to himself, but as he saw Corey moved forward he knew he was mistaken. It was a slow walk, but Yusuke watched him carefully. Then, he bolted to the side. Yusuke watched him run without moving, only with his eyes. Corey ran right past Yusuke, and then towards the wall.

_What is he thinking?_ Yusuke wondered as Corey then leapt up from the ground. He turned slightly, his feet now touching the side of the wall. It looked like he was going to jump right at him, but then the older man saw the position of Corey's hand. He had his left hand gripped around the right wrist, and spiritual energy was gathering in it.

_He's going to attack with the Spirit Gun?!_ Yusuke prepared himself, but he hadn't predicted what came next. Corey kept his finger pointed at the wall between his legs, and then shot the blast. The blue spiritual energy erupted, busting the wall down in a cloud of smoke. It wasn't a screen, though. Corey propelled himself directly at Yusuke, fist out. The blast from the attack giving him way more speed then usual.

"Take…this!!" Corey screamed, delivering a solid right hook into the side of Yusuke's face, sending the demon skidding across the floor for about a foot. Corey landed hard on the ground, but jumped up, grinning widely. Yusuke placed his hand inside the hood, rubbing his cheek. At least, that's what Corey assumed.

"Nice delivery. Of course, you still have a long ways to go, but you did pass my test. Good job."

"Damn right…" Corey said cockily, trying to move forward but stumbling. Before he could fall, Yusuke had caught him. He moved Corey's arm around his neck and the two walked to the door and opened it. The both blinked at what they saw. About twenty demons all huddled around the doorway, Hokashin in the front.

"Uhh…" Corey said. The demons all looked stunned, "Yo?"

Time seemed to freeze for a minute, but then Yusuke suddenly began to snicker. Corey looked at him and also began to laugh, until both of them were overcome by laughter. Hokashin and the others just stared at the two cousins, until finally Yusuke stopped.

"Hokashin!" he said, and that quickly snapped Hokashin out of his trance and stood up straight.

"My lord?"

"Prepare a feast. I have a new apprentice." There was a bit of chatter as all the demons nodded, and filed down the stairs. Yusuke looked over at Corey,

"Eat well, Corey. Your training begins once your wounds heal from this time, and trust me…" They began to move down the stairs, "It will be a hundred times harder then what you just went through."

"Great…" Corey grumbled, as the two went down the stairs to go and enjoy the meal. _I just hope…that I'm up for the challenge…_


	3. The Mobile Fortress

**Chapter 3**

_The Mobile Fortress_

"Fist of the Mortal Flame!" screamed Derek as he delivered a flaming punch into a large, centipede like demon. The boy panted quietly, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. His clothes hadn't changed much since he arrived. He was wearing a cut off black shirt, with black pants and boots.

Two weeks…two weeks in this damned place, and I still have barely spoke with Hiei, let alone train with him! Damn it, all!

It was what Hiei made Derek do for the beginning of his training. Derek looked around, seeing the corpses of all the demons he had beat down and rubbed the back of his head. All of them were B or A class, but Derek still didn't feel like it was helping at all.

Hiei told me that this is what Mukuro had him do, but what's the point? I mean I can kind of feel myself getting stronger, but not near Corey strong.

Derek couldn't help but feel jealous towards his best friend. He had been given the spiritual power of one of the most powerful demons in the entire world, and here he was stuck with B and A class lackeys. He sighed lightly and walked over to a large pig like monster and withdrew his katana from its skull, sat down against a wall and began to clean the blade off.

"I'm not about to let some ugly demon rust my blade…" Derek commented aloud.

"Probably a wise decision…" came a voice from the entrance of the dungeon. Derek quickly leapt up; holding his blade at ready, but it wasn't another attacking monster.

A shorter demon, probably no larger then 5 foot, who had spiky black hair, with a white outline and a bit of a blue tint. He wore black robes similar to those that Derek had worn before. On his forehead, was a third eye, which lightly glow a faint bluish light. His hands were behind his back as he walked over to Derek, and then looked at the boy's onslaught of the demons.

"Hiei…" Derek said quietly, staring at him, then frowned at him, "How much longer are you going to put me through this crap? I've killed every single creature you sent out at me, and I still don't feel any stronger! Corey and I came here to train for the Demon World Tournament, and while he's getting his training from Yusuke, I'm here fighting a bunch of losers!"

It was what he had wanted to yell at the demon for the past two weeks. He had quickly grown sick of the redundant fighting of the weaker demons. To his anger, Hiei merely chuckled.

"Mukuro had me do this for six months, Maison, so be grateful that this is your last day down here." Hiei moved forward again, bending down and examining one of the dead apparitions. Derek followed him,

"So…does that mean that you're going to be training me now?" He asked, a smile forming on his lips.

"In a sense…" Hiei replied, and turned around towards the door. "Follow me." He ordered, and Derek did just that. Just as they did, the bodies of the demons disappeared, as if they were never there to begin with.

He hadn't really been able to explore the mobile fortress that was Hiei and Mukuro's home. As a matter of fact, Hiei had sent him straight into that dungeon the moment he arrived into the Demon Realm. He was the one who met him after the portal had spit him out. Derek wondered what had happened to Corey and Jade, but once the training began he really didn't have much time to think about it.

Hiei had explained that Derek would be given a trial: survival. Every day he unleashed the B and A class demons into the dungeon, leaving Derek only to kill or be killed. He was given decent amounts of food, but it was no feast.

"So…do I really start training now?" Derek asked again, but all Hiei did was ignore him, "Okay…"

The two walked through the gigantic base, Derek looking around idly, until they finally made their way to the top of the fortress. There, stood a woman, with her back turned to them. Hiei motioned for Derek to stop as he made his way towards her. She turned, and gave a gentle smile to Hiei.

The woman was an odd looking one. Although the left side of her face was beautiful, the other side looked as though it had been burned terribly. In fact, through what Derek could see over her clothes, the whole right side of her was burned. She wore a simple blue dress, both her arms exposed from the shoulder. She also stood barefoot in front of them. She was a good six inches taller then Hiei, and so she leaned down to give him a kiss on the lips. Derek blinked a bit,

"You're Mukuro?" He asked, putting his hands in his pockets. She looked over at him and smiled.

"Yes." Came her reply, "I am. You must be Derek Maison. A pleasure to meet you." She walked over to the young man and held out her left hand to shake his. Derek smiled and shook it, then looked at Hiei.

"Am I training with her?" he asked, going back to the previous subject. Hiei sighed loudly, but Mukuro merely chuckled.

"I'm afraid that I do not have the strength to train you, Derek. I'm not as strong as I used to be." She explained, and then looked over at Hiei, who nodded and turned to Derek.

"I will be training you, but not directly. You will have a training partner…my son."

At that moment, Derek sensed someone coming up from behind him. He quickly turned to see a young looking man, a little older then Derek but not by much. He wore black robes with a red lining to them and a red bandana. He wore a pair of leather gloves, similar to Corey's, and a pair of black boots. His hair was black with a dark red tint to it. Derek quickly saw the similarities in his and Hiei's eyes. This was Hiei's son.

"Derek…this is Dia. He will be your training partner for the rest of the year."

Dia seemed un-amused.

"This…is my training partner?" Asked Dia, smirking darkly. The smirk gave Derek a chill down his spine, but he managed a cocky grin,

"Yeah…gotta problem with it, shorty?" Derek asked, folding his arms a crossed his chest. Dia didn't seem amused.

"Yes, I do. With your power level, you'd only hold me back. I'm training to become the King of the Demon Realm. Training with you would be a waste of my time." At this point, Derek had had enough. He quickly ran right at Dia, gritting his teeth.

"I'll show you a waste of time!" He yelled, and in a flash was right in front of Dia, bringing is fist up to upper cut him. Dia leapt backwards and swung his left leg around to kick Derek in the side of the head, but the demon held up his left arm and blocked it. Flames began to erupt out of both demons, and at the same time they both backed off, ready for a second round. Before they could even start, Hiei stepped in between.

"Both of you, knock it off!" he yelled, his eyes flaring. Both of the younger demons stopped and stared at him, "I'm happy you two are so ready on fighting each other, but now is not the time. Derek, you have been fighting apparitions for two weeks straight and will need rest. Dia, you just did a lap around the entire demonic plain. Neither of you are at your top level. You will both get the night off, along with tomorrow. After that, your real training will begin."

And that was that. Hiei's word was law around this area it seemed like. The shorter demon went back over to his wife, and left Derek and Dia glaring at one another.

"This isn't over…" Derek said quietly, walking past him.

"You're right. It wont be over until I take you down in the tournament…if you survive that long." Dia replied, leaving the top of the fortress. Derek was left standing there, watching the demon leave.

Hmm…well, I guess that means that means I have a new rival… He grinned lightly. Good…as much fun as it is to battle with Corey, I can't fight at full strength with him. This is going to be fun.

******

"Ready? Begin!" yelled Hiei, as he looked between Derek and Dia. The two were staring each other off; both had a katana in their hand, although Dia held his in his left, Derek in his right. They were standing in the middle of a demonic desert, a slight wind around them.

It had been four month since Derek was taken out of the dungeon belonging to Hiei, and his training had intensified far more then the young man could ever imagine. He had already increased his strength drastically in that amount of time, and was ready to do even more. This was the first time that Dia and Derek were going to spar to a knock out. Hiei forbid them to kill one another, although the two warriors had grown to greatly dislike one another. They actually wanted to kill one another…badly.

"Try not to whine, Jaganshi," Derek said, glaring at him.

"Don't hold your breath, Maison. You're going down." Dia replied, and the two's energies began to flare.

Hiei couldn't help but find himself smile. His son and pupil, both having improved by so much, getting ready to battle.

Derek's power has increased so much. He may have the ability to overpass even Dia.

And with that thought, as if a sign to go, the two launched at one another. With being over 30 feet apart, the two had crossed blades in under three seconds. When they did, the energy around them got even more gigantic. They held this position for a few moments, and it was Dia who made the first move. He leapt away from Derek and his blade soon became engulfed in fire.

"Hey! My move!" Derek yelled, letting his do the same. Dia merely smirked.

"That may be true…but mine has a twist." He said, and soon the flames began to twirl around the katana. Slowly at first, but soon they began to pick up speed.

Jeez…he wasn't kidding when he said twist! Derek thought to himself, as the fire turned into a mini tornado around the sword. He then charged at Derek, who could only counter with his own blade. The tornado of fire quickly overwhelmed him, sending him flying through the desert. Just as he was about to land on the hard grains of sand, Dia appeared below him.

"What?!" Yelled Derek in surprise. Dia's right hand was burning with fire, a move that Derek knew only to well. His signature move: The Fist of the Mortal Flame. With out uttering a word, Dia hit Derek in the stomach with the flaming fist, causing blood to spurt out of Derek's mouth. He then flipped Derek around, his fist still connecting with his stomach, and launched him into the ground. Derek ht it hard, sending a dust of sand around them. Derek couldn't move a muscle.

"Winner…Dia." Came the voice of Hiei from a distance. Dia looked down at Derek and grinned wickedly.

"Go figure…a demon from the Human Realm could not beat me." he said, and turned and walked off back to the fortress.

Hiei had come over to Derek now, and offered him a hand up. Derek took it was a low sigh and glanced away.

"Derek…Dia has powers that you don't have. If you even want to consider beating him, you're going to have to train even harder. I've noticed that your signature move is the Fist of the Mortal Flame, am I right?" Derek looked a little confused, "I thought so. I watched you fight in the dungeon, and you used it the most."

"Okay…so what's your point?" Derek asked, already agitated because of losing the fight.

"I'm going to teach you how to use it with both hands, and your feet…your entire body." Hiei said calmly. Derek's eyes widened.

"You're serious? How, though? I was always told that you can only use it with your dominant hand." Derek asked. That's what his father had told him when he was younger.

"Well…it was also said that no one could master the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, and yet…" he cut himself off as he lifted up the sleeve of his robes. There, on his right arm, was a long black dragon tattoo. Derek's eyes widened.

"Are you serious? I guess I did hear that you are the only one who has mastered the Black Dragon, but I never really believed it."

"Of course… I don't know if anyone else can." Hiei shrugged lightly. "At any rate, you will get strong enough to compete in the tournament…and do decent."

"You mean win, right?" Derek asked, grinning a bit.

"No…I mean decent. You won't win."

"Whaaat? Come on, Hiei! So…if I win, I'll be king of the demons!"

"No…you can't."

"Let's say hypothetically…"

"No."

"You're a bastard…"


	4. The Feast of the Moon

_**Chapter 4**_

_The Feast of the Moon_

Corey breathed heavily as he sat against a stonewall inside of the castle. He was in a large arena, a training center for the demons that wish to compete in the tournament. Apparently, it was used before as a training ground for Raizen's army. For now, though, it was Corey's training ground for training with Yusuke.

Eight long months had passed, and Corey's strength and agility had grown exponentially since he first arrived with Hokashin to the Stone Castle.

Instead of the usual clothes that he wore, he had put on the Gi that Gero had given him in his first training with him. Corey seemed to have surpassed every demon in this realm, except, of course, for Yusuke. It seemed to Corey that the older demons strength knew no bounds. No matter how many times Corey attacked, it seemed like Yusuke could not be hurt, and time was running out for his training. The tournament was only three months away, and the young man just wasn't confident enough.

For now, though, Corey rested. It was around 3pm in the Human Realm, although he had no idea what time it was here. He wondered at times if Demon World _had_ time. His Gi had been completely destroyed at this time, having holes ripped in it from falling or getting hit. It looked tattered. The sad thing was, a maid would always repair it after the day was done. His hair had grown long, like with when he trained with Gero, but this was even longer then before. He had least had a razor for his beard, but he hardly used it.

"Come on, Corey. Get up." Corey lifted his head to see Yusuke standing over him. After eight months of training with the man, he had still yet to see his face. He always wore that cloak and hood. Corey put his hand on the ground for support, and then lifted himself up, using the wall as a brace.

"Don't tell me you're tired already. You can always quit, and fight how you are…although I doubt you'll last long." Yusuke mocked him, folding his arms across his chest.

"Shut up…I'm always ready for more." Corey replied, ripping off the sleeves of the Gi, "I was just getting a little warm is all. The heat around here sucks."

With that last comment, Corey used the wall as a level and pushed himself from it, going for a straightforward punch at Yusuke, who casually slapped his fist away with his arm and countered with a knee in the stomach. Getting the wind knocked out of him, Yusuke grabbed Corey's collar and threw him to the ground. He landed, but quickly jumped back up with the help of his hands, delivering a powerful kick right into Yusuke's chest. The demon lord stumbled back, and Corey was able to use his chest as leverage to leap up in the air. Pointing his index finger at him, he grinned, the blue aura circling around his finger.

"Spirit Gun!" Corey yelled, the spiritual bullet blasting out of the tip of the finger, right at Yusuke.

"Not so fast!" Yusuke replied, and held out his hands, catching the spiritual power in his palms. Corey landed, still sending out energy into the attack.

"What?! That's…that's cheating!" Corey yelled, enraged at this turn of events. Yusuke began to push Corey back with his own energy, and finally with a bit of a push, sent it right back at the boy, sending him flying back over a hundred feet. He landed, tumbling backwards in all sorts of awkward positions until he finally rolled to a stop on his stomach. The top of his Gi was completely destroyed with bits of the material scattered over the arena.

Yusuke moved forward slowly, watching Corey the entire time. The boy was breathing hard, but at least that meant he was still alive. He then slowly got up, holding up his fists, ready to fight again. Yusuke laughed,

"Put your fists down, boy. We're done for the day." With a long sigh, Corey did and nodded, and would follow the demon lord back into the castle.

******

"Ah, this is delicious!" Corey exclaimed, biting into a piece of chicken leg and ripping off the meat. It was finally dinnertime, and the night of the full moon in Demon World, and the only time it actually had a night. For whatever reason, Corey never did understand it the people of the Stone Castle always had a celebration on this night called "Feast of the Moon". When Corey asked Yusuke why this was, the demon lord merely shrugged and replied,

"Beats me…I just go with it. Free food."

Corey never really did complain about this. After a hard month of fighting and training with Yusuke, a good meal was always appreciated. Not that he was deprived good food, it's just it was fun hanging out with the other demons. Corey was mostly concealed with Yusuke training or resting. They had stopped early today so that Corey could go to the feast.

Yusuke sat at the head of a long table, with Corey on one side next to him and Hokashin on the other. The table easily fit thirty people, and there were five all together. Laughter and chatter were all Corey could really hear at this point…that, and the sound of him eating his own food. Corey looked over and next to him was a young demon girl, with blue eyes and long green hair. She looked almost human, except that her ears were slightly pointed. She gave him a shy smile, which he replied with by grinning himself. Before he could even say anything, he heard Yusuke's chair scoot back, and he stood up.

"Can I have your attention!" Yusuke said his voice booming through the hall. Every fell silent and all eyes were on Yusuke.

_I wonder what this is about…_ Corey thought to himself.

"As most of you know, I have been training a boy named Corey Kartana, who will be participating in the Demon World Tournament." All eyes suddenly went onto Corey, who turned a little red and gave a small wave. The green haired girl giggled, turning Corey even redder.

"Yes, well, I have made a decision. I am going to enter the tournament as well to attempt to become King of the Demons once more."

A roar of applause and cheers came through the hall. It was so loud it almost hurt Corey's ears, even though he was clapping too. The boy hadn't realized that Yusuke didn't tell anyone about him competing. Actually, the only time that Yusuke had told him was in that weird dream world, so it was kind of refreshing to hear him say it personally.

"Well, I only hope that I still have what it takes. It's been a few years!" Yusuke said, a chuckle coming out of his mouth.

"You can do it, Lord Urameshi!"

"Yea, you can beat anyone!"

"You're the best!" All through out the hall were demons saying Yusuke could do it. Not being able to help himself, Corey hopped up and grinned,

"Yeah, until you get to me!" He said, grinning. More cheers were heard. Corey had become fairly popular through out the kingdom, making friends with the older demons and learning from them. Yusuke laughed and clapped Corey's back, who had to stabilize his balance afterwards.

"Very true, Corey, I cannot wait for us to fight seriously." More cheers, but Corey actually blinked at that one.

_Seriously? He hasn't been fighting seriously with me? That…could be scary…_

The thought got taken out of his head when the green haired girl got up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"For good luck, Mr. Kartana." She said, smiling. Corey turned bright red and the whole hall laughed, along with Yusuke. The night went on with good cheer, and Corey was glad he was amongst his friends. He only wished that Derek, Jade and Liz could be here too.

******

The night had settled down, and everyone else had left to go into their homes, leaving Corey and Yusuke in the courtyard of the castle. It looked a lot different then other parts of the castle. It looked like it was from the Human World. Corey glanced over at Yusuke for a second, who was quiet, which was odd. Normally, after the Feast of the Moon, Yusuke was always telling old war stories about his old fights, but tonight…

"Yusuke? You all right?" Corey asked, wondering why the old demon lord wasn't speaking. He stopped and turned his head to look at Corey.

"I'm sorry, Corey. I was thinking about someone…" He said, sitting down on a bench near a fountain at the center of the courtyard.

"…is it Keiko?" He asked, but then quickly said, "…sorry…" To his surprise, Yusuke held up a hand.

"It's fine. Yes, I am thinking of her and my friend Kuwabara, who was my best friend and best man at my wedding. He passed away about three months before Keiko did. I guess that's what made me so depressed…losing two of the most important people in my life is less then half a year." Corey remained quiet. He didn't know what to say about it. He had never actually experienced death in his life before. For the most part, his family life was pretty good.

"Am I going to live as long as you?" Corey asked, curious. It was the first time he had ever actually thought about it.

"You might…but I really doubt it. You're mostly human, after all. Find a woman that you love, Corey, and treasure her." He lowered his head a bit and looked at the ground. Corey watched him with uncertainty.

"Do you regret it?" he asked.

"What?" Yusuke asked back, looking up at him.

"Do you regret getting married to Keiko? I mean, you know how long you would live, but you did anyways, right?" Yusuke stood up and looked at Corey, then shook his head.

"No…I would never regret that, Corey. I loved her, and that's all there is to it." Corey felt himself grin a bit.

"Good, cause if you did, I'd have to kick your ass right here and now." The two looked at each other, and then began to laugh. It was a good feeling.

Although Yusuke was only like a cousin to Corey, it felt like he was becoming more of a father figure to him. It was a welcomed feeling, that's for sure. Corey couldn't help but start to feel homesick. His mother, father, and all his friends back in the Human World and none of them actually knew where he was except Liz. He wrote letters to them, of course, but nearly everything he said was a lie. He couldn't talk to Liz about the Demon World, due to the fact that the letter might be delivered wrongly, and all sorts of things might happen.

Every so often, Kurama would visit Corey and Yusuke from the Spirit World, and Corey would always ask how everything was and if Liz had had any cases as of yet.

As it turned out, a demon related to Cross Blade, the demon mafia lord who was living in their hometown had come to seek revenge. When he learned that Corey and Derek were nowhere to be found, his first thought was to restart the 'family business' and start the demon crime syndicate again. Liz was promptly called to the case, and challenged Cross Blade to a fight. Thinking that he was going to easily be able to defeat her, he accepted. The details of the battle made both Corey and Yusuke to laugh their asses off. It ended with Cross Blade's relative begging for his life and Liz laughing maniacally.

"Ready to head back?" Yusuke asked Corey, and the boy nodded,

"Yea. Let's…uh!" Corey's eyes suddenly widened. His body suddenly felt ice cold. His body shivered, his spine tingled.

_This…feeling. It's the same as that one day with Black Robe guy…_

"Corey? Corey! Hey, answer me!" He heard Yusuke yell at him, but for some reason he just couldn't move. He finally managed to move his head back and forth, and he did it to try and find where he was.

_Where…are you? _

_**Do you need to ask?**_ Came a reply in Corey's mind, causing him to gasp in shock. Yusuke's voice was drowned by the voice in his head. _**I'm watching you, Kartana. Watching you train with Urameshi. **_

_Of course I am…I have to fight in the tournament, the one you wished me luck on!_ He tried to be sarcastic with the creature, but the way his voice sounded…so cold…so empty…it frightened the young man.

_**You will not survive…you will die, Kartana. You will die and I'll be there to do it. Everyone you know will suffer. They will die…die…DIE!!**_

_Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!! _Corey finally could not take it anymore, and fell forward, blacking out before he hit the ground.

******

"Corey…Corey, wake up…" Came a voice outside of Corey's head. He opened his eyes slowly and saw a young woman looking down at him.

"Huh?" He asked, confused. He sat up slowly, and found himself in a bed instead of the floor. He was in a small room, reminding him a lot of a doctor's office. In fact, it was. In the room was the woman, who he assumed was the doctor, and Yusuke, looking over at him.

"Corey…are you all right?" he asked, sounding concerned. Corey merely nodded,

"Yea…I was just tired is all."

"You were screaming in the courtyard. You kept saying 'Shut up' over and over again. Did you hear someone?"

"No…" Corey replied after a few moment of silence. He didn't want Yusuke or anyone else to think he was crazy.

"Alright…" Yusuke said, although he didn't sound convinced. "Well, rest for now. We won't train tomorrow, but we're going to start bright and early the next day. Get some sleep." And with that, Yusuke left the room, the doctor following behind him. Corey lay back down in the hospital bed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Who are you?" he asked quietly to no one, "Know this, if you're listening. If you're in the tournament…I'm going to kill you."


	5. Reunion of Heroes

**Chapter 5**

_Reunion of Heroes_

Corey opened his eyes and glanced around the room in which he was staying. He smirked, realizing what day it was. He climbed out of bed and quickly showered and changed into his fighting Gi and boots. He slicked back his hair and smirked at himself in the mirror.

_Been awhile since I did that._ He threw his clothes in a bag and ran out of the room. He waved at a few people who he ran passed, knowing he wouldn't seem them again for quite awhile.

_This is it! Today's the day we leave!_ He thought to himself as he ran out of the castle.

This was the day that they left for the Demon World Tournament. Although the actual tournament didn't start for a week, fighters all had to get there early to register and prepare. Yusuke told him to meet up with him and Hokashin at the entrance of the castle once he awoke, and so Corey was doing that just now.

He reached the end of the castle and slowed himself to a walk as he saw Yusuke and Hokashin waiting in the distance. He went up to them and smirked,

"Yo." He said, greeting them as they turned around.

"Good morning, Corey." Hokashin said to him.

"Ready to go?" asked Yusuke, and Corey nodded with another grin.

"Of course. Let's do this thing…" he blinked and looked around a little bit, "Umm…are we walking?"

Yusuke chuckled lightly, "No…Hiei and Mukuro will be getting us. The tournament arena is much to far to walk too. They'll be here shortly."

Corey nodded and sat his bag down, he himself also sitting down with it. He leaned against it and closed his eyes.

After a few minutes of just resting, his eyes suddenly opened as he felt the ground begin to shake.

"What the…hell?" he asked, jumping up and looking at the older demons.

"It seems they have arrived." Hokashin announced. Corey blinked and looked into the distance, and gave a very blank expression as he saw what was coming. A large beetle of some sort, mechanical looking, was driving right towards them. After another couple of minutes, it was right in front of them, and looked colossal. It was a little smaller then the Stone Castle, but not by much. Yusuke and Hokashin both jumped up and landed on the top of the machine.

"Heh…nice ride…" Corey said, following the other twos lead. He jumped up and landed, only two find two other people standing there waiting for him: a man and a woman.

"Corey…I want you to meet Hiei and Mukuro." Yusuke said, shaking hands with both of them. Corey examined the two and smiled,

"Nice to meet you." He said.

"You as well, Corey." Mukuro said, smiling at him.

"Hmph…" Hiei said, nodding to Corey but then only to look away.

Corey frowned, "Aren't you the pinnacle of politeness," he said sourly, and the other three laughed. Corey looked around for a moment, then back at Mukuro. "Isn't Derek here?" he asked.

"Derek went a day earlier to go and meet Jade." She said, smiling.

"What?? That bastard…" Corey said, frowning for a second then smirking, "Same old Derek…"

The mobile fortress began to move. It went fairly fast for such a large vehicle. Corey smiled and looked out at the Demon World as they passed through it. It was so large. Yusuke had told him awhile back that the Demon World was over fifty times larger then the Human World, and while looking over at the world he can see why. It was massive.

_And to think…demons from all over are coming to this tournament…better be some good competition…_ Corey thought to himself as they rode on.

******

It took three days to reach the stadium on which the tournament would be held. From the top of the mobile fortress, Corey could see thousands of demons storming in to watch and participate. The stadium was massive, like five Roman Coliseums combined. The fortress stopped, and Corey jumped down along with Yusuke, Hiei, Mukuro and Hokashin and landed safely on the ground. They five of them walked into the entrance area for fighters and Corey gulped a bit.

Demons of all shapes and sizes wandered about the main hall of the stadium. Some were just standing around, talking amongst themselves, others were running around, and others were standing in line for sign-ups. Corey blinked and looked over at Yusuke,

"Hey…do we have to wait in those lines? It looks like it would take the whole day!"

"Don't worry, Corey. We already registered." Yusuke replied, looking around.

"We did?" Corey asked, not recalling ever doing that.

"Yup. Hokashin took care of it." He said, looking over at the old monk, who nodded.

"Oh…neat." Corey said and laughed, but it was interrupted by two familiar voices.

"Corey!!" They shouted, and he turned to look. He grinned wide as he saw Jade and Derek running up to him.

"Haha! You guys made it!" Corey said excitedly, going over to them and greeting them. Corey took a moment to examine them both. Derek had a bit of a beard going, mostly rough like his had been before he shaved, and his hair was much longer. Jade didn't look much different, except her hair was done in a braid.

"Corey, it's good to see you again." She said with a smile, "You look well."

"Of course…a year of training with a bastard like Yusuke is nothing I can't handle!" Corey replied, laughing and looking over at Yusuke, who, to his relief, was chuckling as well.

"You did get quite a bit stronger, Corey." Derek said, looking over his friend, "But you're going to be no match to me." He said, smirking. Corey blinked and glared over at him,

"Pretty cocky for someone who got their ass handed to them by the last demon warlord we fought!" Corey retorted, and Derek glared back at him.

"Oh, look who's talking! You had to get help from an outside party!" He said, glaring back. The two seemed to have electricity going into each other's eyes, until Jade finally stepped in between.

"Alright, alright. Break it up, you two." She said smiling.

She could tell that both of them were far more powerful then they had been originally, but Derek seemed to have thrived more in the training. Maybe it was because he was farther behind then Corey was to start, but both were nearly equal to each other. There was some power difference, but it was so insignificant at the moment that she couldn't tell by whom.

"Yes, well, shall we get our rooms?" Yusuke interjected, walking over to the three. They both looked back at him.

"Rooms?" Corey asked, wondering what demonic rooms could be like.

******

"Nice!" Corey said as they entered his room. They each got their own room for the tournament, compliments of Yusuke and Hiei. Corey's room, and he assumed everyone else's, was a large room with a king size bed, bathroom, dresser, kitchen area, and window. Although they all were a bit dark looking, with weird designs on the wall that looked like it would be a room for a Satanist, it was cozy enough. Corey walked further in and dropped his bag off and started unpacking.

"Heh…don't unpack to quick, Corey, you might not make it past the first round." Derek teased, and Corey turned around to look at him, grinning,

"I'd worry about yourself there, pal." Corey retorted, stretching up to the ceiling.

"Please, don't start again." Jade commented, leaving the room and rolling her eyes as she did. Corey and Derek looked at each other and laughed,

"Guess she just doesn't get it, does she?" Derek asked with a smirk, sitting down in the chair in the room. Corey sat on the bed,

"Mm-hmm…so lemme ask you something, Derek. How are things between you and the Thief?" Corey asked slyly, grinning as he leaned in a bit towards Derek, who turned slightly red.

"What…what do you mean?" Derek asked, looking away.

"Don't play dumb. I know you two are closer then before. Have you…you know?" Corey began to snicker, turning Derek even redder.

"Shut up, Corey! I don't think that's any of your concern!" He shouted, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Aw, come on man! All I'm askin' is if she's, you know…" He was interrupted by Jade's footsteps coming back up to the door.

Both men turned to look at her as she came in. She blinked, looking from Corey to Derek, who was still red.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing." Corey said innocently, still snickering lightly as he finished unpacking.

"Derek?" she asked, turning to him now.

"Y-yes?" He stuttered.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing! I swear! I'm…gonna go unpack!" And he quickly ran out, grabbing his bag as he went. Jade blinked and chased after him.

"Derek Maison! Get back here! What did you tell Corey?!" and all Corey could do was laugh at the couple.

_Well…something obviously happened…_He mused, standing up and walking to the window, opening it and looking outward onto Demon World. He let out a soft sigh and stared.

_So this is it…these battles could be the toughest I've ever fought. _Corey thought to himself, staring into the red sky above, _I only hope…that I can do as well as everyone thinks…_


	6. The Tournament Begins!

**Chapter 6**

_The Tournament Begins!_

"Ladies and gentleman! Please give your attention to the center arena for your Tournament Announcer!" Came a voice over the loud speakers through the stadium. Corey and Derek blinked and looked over towards it. A woman with a microphone in her hand, with what seemed to be cat ears and a short skirt was standing there with few official looking men.

"Who's this lady?" Corey asked aloud, glancing over at his friend, who could only shrug.

"That's Kodo, the official tournament announcer." Yusuke explained, having just walked over with Jade.

"Ladies and demons! Welcome to the 16th Demon World Tournament! Is everyone ready for this blood fest to start?!" The woman yelled. The cheers in the crowd grew louder. "Good! Well, then, let's get this started!" She turned around and pointed at gigantic screen. Four large pillars that looked a lot like mushrooms were shown. In each of them was a tournament arena.

"Wait…we don't even fight center stage?" Corey asked, looking over at Yusuke, who shook his head.

"No. The damage that some of these apparitions can do would be catastrophic. These arenas are about a mile or two away from here. All fighting will be shown from here."

"Oh…" Corey said quietly, looking a little disappointed. Yusuke must have noticed this, because he rested his hand on his shoulder,

"Don't worry, Corey. The two who make it to the finals will be brought here, and with the help of some powerful shield demons, the battle will take place right there."'

"Heh…Corey doesn't need to worry about that, since I'm the one who is going to be there." Derek said, grinning at his friend.

"Yea right. Maybe in a few years!"

"None of you will make it…" came a dark voice from behind them. All four of them turned too see Dia standing there, eyes closed and arms folded over his chest.

"Dia…" Derek said coldly. Both Corey and Jade looked confused.

"Who's that?" asked Jade, looking over at her boyfriend.

"Dia Jaganshi…son of Mukuro and Hiei." Came the voice of Yusuke, not Derek. Dia turned and looked at Yusuke, and smirked,

"Yusuke Urameshi…I heard word that you were going to be competing this year. It's just as well…without mother and father to fight, it wouldn't have been much of a challenge, seeing as there are competitors like Maison and this human here running around."

"What was that??" Corey asked gritting his teeth. He could already tell that this guy wanted to start trouble, and if he had too, he'd comply. To his surprise though, Derek held out his arm to stop Corey.

"Dia…you and I will finish this in the arena. We'll finally see who became stronger." With a last stuck up laugh, Dia walked away from the four.

"Derek…did you train with that man?" asked Jade, re-taking Derek's hand. Derek nodded and then looked at Corey,

"If we can, Corey, I'm going to be taking that guy on. Our score will have to wait…" he smirked at his friend who nodded,

"No problem. You can take shorty there…I need to save my energy as it is." Corey remarked. He looked back at the arena and smirked,

_I'm going to make it to the finals…I know it. I need to find out who the hell that robed guy is. Also…I just want to prove that I can do it. That this energy that was given to me isn't going to waste. _

"Corey…hey, Corey. Snap out of it, pal." Derek said, nudging Corey slightly, "We gotta go get ready for the prelims."

"Huh? Oh…right." He nodded, and then followed Yusuke to the next area.

******

"All right, you all know the rules. No killing if you can help it. The way to defeat your opponent is by knock out, ring out, or if they give up. Let's try to keep it somewhat clean. Once I'm out of the way, go ahead and start the fight."

The referee soon floated off on what looked like a little hover craft, leaving Corey and 44 others in the arena on top of one of the mushroom deals. Corey glanced around, looking at all the demons that for whatever reasons all had their eyes or eye on him.

"Well lookie here…a human, fighting in a demon tournament. What kind of crap is that?" Yelled a large ogre like demon.

"Yea, he shouldn't even be here. Maybe he's the winner's dinner!" Cried a bird one.

"I ain't nobodies dinner, Bird-brain!" Corey yelled, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, well, look at that. He thinks he's a fighter." Said the Ogre, grinning with rotten teeth. Corey glared and just waited for the signal to go. And sure enough…

"Fighters… begin!!" Screamed the woman announcer. Corey didn't need to be told once. Before anyone else could even make a move, the boy was already headed right towards the bird demon. He jumped in the air, and brought his right foot back, and kicked the demon square in the side of the head. It gawked, and flew back right into a nearby tree, busting it straight in two. Needless to say, the bird was out.

"You see that?"

"He knocked him out!"

"Let's kill that human!" All 43 of the demons began to rush at Corey, who merely grinned at them.

"A-Class, eh? I can tell by your power levels…" he braced himself for the attack, "That you guys just plain suck!!"

The first of the demons tried to crush Corey with his immense size (at least thirty feet high), but Corey jumped up and delivered a powerful upper cut, which caused the large demon to fall backwards, actually crushing a few more as he did. Corey landed and grinned,

"Jeez…I was worried about this? This is pretty pathetic." Corey said cockily. They all began to charge at him once more, but Corey merely sighed, "Sorry…I wanna end this fast. I'm kinda hungry." He held out his fist, which began to glow a bluish color, full of spiritual energy. He cocked back his elbow, and smirked once more.

"Shotgun." He threw his fist forward, and as he did around seventy blue spirit bullets blasted out of his fist, knocking down every single demon that was left, leaving them either out of the ring or knocked out. Corey sighed quietly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well…that was boring." He looked up at the announcer, just as she called the win.

"And the winner of this preliminary battle, is Corey Kartana!"

"Yeee-ha!" Corey celebrated, holding his fist up in the air and holding up the 'rock-on' sign. He grinned wide, happy that the victory was quick and that he would get to go into the next round of the tournament.

_One step closer…_

******

"So the next match is a two on two battle, eh?" asked Derek, taking a bite of his hotdog.

It was Corey, Derek and Jade, all sitting in the concession area, enjoying some after battle food. All of their battles went out without a hitch, although neither got to see the others battle. They were to close together for any of them to be able to watch.

"Yup." Corey replied, taking a bite of his burger, "I figure it's you and me, right?"

Derek nodded, but then looked at Jade, then back at Corey, "Or with her."

"What?! You can't compete with Jade!" Corey yelled, nearly chocking on his burger while he did.

"And why not?" He asked, looking at his girlfriend for a moment,

"Because…Love and war and stuff."

"Eh…I don't know."

"Derek!!" Corey yelled, standing up with a burger in his mouth.

"It's fine, Derek. Besides…I'm fighting with Yusuke."

"You're what?!!" Yelled Corey and Derek at the same time.

"Yea. I asked him too. Anyways, I have to go. I'm meeting my teacher. Bye boys." And with that she took a quick drink of her soda and ran off, leaving Derek standing there in awe. Corey looked over and grinned, then slammed his palm on his back.

"She totally ditched you, dude."

"Fuck you…"

******

"All righty, folks, it's finally here! With all of the prelims done, we have finally managed to get just 64 competitors left in the Demon World Tournament! Now it's time for the two on two battles, where we will dwindle the numbers to just 16! Now, let's take a look at our first group of fighters!"

The image on the large screen jumped to the arena on one of the mushrooms. On one side of the arena stood Corey and Derek. The other, two demons that looked like humans except for the fact that they had fangs.

"Jeez… they're vampires? That's annoying." Commented Corey, putting his hands behind his back as he did.

"Nah…vamps are cool. These guys…well, aren't." Derek replied.

The comments of the two teens did not seem to amuse their opponents. Corey idly scratched behind his head, reading the energy of the two demons.

_Upper A-Class. At least it might be some fun._

"Ready…begin!!"

The two demons took the first chance they could to attack the two boys. They each had what looked a lot similar to pirate cutlass's, and both swung at the same time at the two boys. Both Corey and Derek jumped backwards and drew their own weapons as they did.

"Come on…that was pathetic! You think you can beat us with crap moves like that?" Corey asked laughing at them. They seemed to get even more angered as he did do this.

"Corey…calm down. You don't wanna make 'em cry." Derek said, smirking.

"That's it!! I'm tired of these damn kids!!" Yelled one of the first apparitions.

He looked at his partner and nodded, and both held out their palms. Energy began to pour out of them, and then go into their palms. Out of nowhere, a mess of energy came out of their palms. The two boys jumped out of the way, but the energy followed them and hit them. It didn't hurt, but as soon as it made contact with them, it turned into a giant bubble around them, engulfing them inside.

"Wha-?" asked Corey looking around inside of the bubble.

"Uhh…I think were stuck in here." Derek said, trying to find an exit out of the bubble. Corey grinned and pointed his right index finger at the bubble, charged up, and shot a single spirit gun bullet at it. Once it hit the barrier, it bounced back right at them.

"Whoa!!" they both yelled, dodging back and forth as the bullet shot everywhere that the barrier was.

Finally, Corey held out his hand and caught his own energy. He looked over at Derek and grinned innocently, who glared darkly at him.

"Don't do that again." Derek snapped.

"Well what do we do then?" asked Corey, making the energy vanish in his hand. As they ask, they noticed that the barrier began to move towards them. Derek didn't move away, and the barrier itself burned his robes.

"Shit!" Derek yelled, jumping back. The area around them was hardly fifteen feet now.

"Stand back! I'll Shotgun it!" Corey yelled, cocking back his fist.

"NO YOU WON'T!!!" Derek yelled in rage.

"Fine! Umm…I know! Use your sword!"

"I'm not touching that thing with my sword! Use yours!"

"Hell no! That's a gift from Gero!" The two argued for a moment or two, until they realized that they were now back to back, the barrier around them almost at their bodies.

"Guess there's only one choice." Corey said, looking over at his buddy grinning.

"Right…let's do this!" Derek said, grinning back. At the same time, the two began to flex their demon and spiritual energies, which made the barrier start to push back a bit. They kept keeping it up, until finally the barrier cracked, then shattered into pieces which disappeared before it hit the ground. The blast of energy caused both Corey and Derek to be kneeling, but as they rose, Corey grinned,

"Who ordered an extra helping of ass-kicking, heavy on the poetic justice?!" Yelled Corey, stepping forward and grinning at the two demons.

"You've been thinking of that since we were in the bubble, haven't you?" asked Derek, swish his katana once in the air.

"You bet your sweet bippy!" Corey said, still grinning at the demons.

"Wait…bippy? Did you just say bippy?" Derek looked at Corey with a very confused look on his face.

"Yea? So what?" Corey asked, looking over at him.

"What the hell is a bippy?"

"I dunno…I heard it from some play or something."

"A play…" Derek almost looked disgusted, "Dude, I'm all for quoting plays, but not in a Demon World Tournament."

"So what should I say then?" Corey asked, folding his arms over his chest and waiting,

"I dunno… something like from a Stallone movie… or somethin'…"

"Dude…he made Rocky 6."

"Oh yea…umm…how about…" before Derek could finish his thought, the two demons they had slightly forgotten about stepped forward,

"Hey!!"

"What?!!" Corey and Derek both yell, and then looked at each other,

"Later?" asked Corey.

"Yea." Derek agreed, and they both ran right at the two, catching them off guard. Corey first slid and tripped the one demon, while Derek clotheslines him at the same time, sending him into the ground. The two quickly look at the other, who had jumped back out of range of their attacks.. They looked up at one another and nodded. Corey grabbed the one's arms that he had tripped, while Derek grabbed the feet.

"One, two, three!!" they threw him right into his buddy with such power that it knocked both of them right out of the ring. They grinned and held up their hands as the referee called their victory.

"Game?" asked Derek, and Corey nodded.

"Oh yea." The two started walking off out of the arena, happy about their victory into the next round.

"But seriously, dude? What's a bippy?" Derek asked.


	7. One Step Closer to Victory

_**Chapter 7**_

_One Step Closer to Victory_

"Well, it looks like we all made it to the next round." Hokashin said, smiling proudly.

Corey, Derek, Jade, Yusuke, and him were all spending time in Derek's room, relaxing and having enjoying themselves. Corey and Yusuke were playing cards, Derek and Jade were cuddling in the couch, leaving Hokashin trying to get everyone pumped for the up coming round.

"He's only like this because it's his first time making it this far in the tournament…" Yusuke said, leaning over to Corey and whispering to him. Corey laughed, and Hokashin glared at the both of them, causing them both to laugh now.

"So does anyone know who we fight against and win?" Derek asked, Jade still around his arm.

"I'm not sure, actually…" Yusuke admitted, standing up and laying his cards upside down on the table, "They never say these things until the day of, and we still have until tomorrow until the fights begin."

"I believe I can help there, Yusuke." Came a voice from the door. Everyone turned, and Corey and Derek both grinned when they saw whom it was.

"Kurama!" Corey said, standing up and going over to the red head demon, shaking his hand, "Good to see you!"

"Yea, man, I thought you weren't competing!" Derek commented, also going over and shaking his hand.

"I'm not," Kurama stated, chuckling lightly, "But I am here for Spirit World. They like keeping a close eye on these things. As it is, I am able to receive the papers on who will fight who."

That seemed to get everyone's attention, for everyone rose from their seats and huddled around Kurama, who held up his hands and slightly pushed them off, "Let's…head over to table, shall we?"

The six of them all moved over to the table in the room, and sat down around it. Kurama opened up the envelope that held the fight bracket and then slid out the paper, laying them on the table. All the fighters stared at it, trying to find where they were.

"Jesus, I can't read this!" Corey yelled. It was in a strange demonic language, and although Yusuke had attempted to teach it to him, Corey was never the brightest one when it came to different languages.

"I'll do this…" Kurama said, smiling lightly. He took the page and read it to himself at first, then set it down.

"Okay…Corey, it seems you have the first round…with a demon named Jessica." He said, pointing at the first slot. Corey grinned and nodded,

"Right on. Sounds like fun." He commented. Kurama nodded to him, smiling at his enthusiasm. He pointed at the next slot.

"Jade…you're here. It seems like your fighting a demon named Dina." He looked up at Jade and nodded to her, as she nodded back.

"Ah. This is a nice surprise. It seems Chu has made it to the next round."

"Who's Chu?" asked Derek.

"Chu is an old ally of ours from the first tournament. He'll be fighting Myron. Ah, I've heard of him. He's a demon who uses undead powers. I hope he'll be okay." He smiled, and didn't seem too worried, though.

"Next, we have two demons named Blitz and Fira, a lighting and fire demon, I believe. That will be interesting…Ah, Derek is next up and he is fighting…oh! Well, it looks like it's Jin."

"Jin, eh? Good luck there, Derek." Yusuke commented, patting Derek on the back.

"Who's that? What does he do?" asked Derek.

"Jin, the Wind Master. He can travel as fast as the wind, and even faster now thanks to his training with Suketsu, an old friend of Raizen's. He's going to be a difficult opponent, Derek. Be careful." Kurama said, looking at Derek, who seemed to be a little worried.

"Hey don't worry to much pal! So what if you cant make it past the first round of the singles. I'll take care of it!" Corey said, grinning at him. He didn't do it to tease Derek, but merely motivated him…which it did.

"Don't worry…I'll kick his ass." Derek said smirking.

"Right. Next up is Dia Jaganshi vs. Hokashin. Dia…Hiei's son?" asked Kurama, looking over at Derek, who nodded slowly.

"Yea…he's the one I'm going after in this tournament." Derek said, pounding his fist into his palm, "I'll beat him down."

"Derek…be careful against him." Jade warned, "I've heard all sorts of things about Dia's cruelness…" Derek looked at her and smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

The whole time, Hokashin remained silent.

"Right. Well, that leaves two more rounds to go. Yusuke…you're fighting Shishiwakamaru." He said, smiling at his friend.

"Heh…great. I can use a good work out." Yusuke said sounding excited. To Corey, it was good seeing Yusuke sounding so determined. He only wished he'd take that hood off.

"And that leaves the last round, Gando vs. Touya. Ah, good. Touya might be your next opponent." Kurama said looking at Yusuke again, who laughed,

"This is going to be great!" Yusuke said, standing up, "But I'm going to call it a night. Tourney starts early tomorrow. Corey, get some rest. The rest of you do the same. Goodnight." And with that, the old demon lord left the room to head to his own.

Hokashin stood up as well, "Yes, I believe it is time for rest. Goodnight, everyone." He bowed and then left as well.

Kurama also said his goodbyes and left, leaving Derek, Corey and Jade alone.

"Heh…this is going to be one crazy couple weeks." Derek commented putting his arm around Jade.

"Yea… hopefully we'll all do well." Jade said.

"I agree with Yusuke, though. I'm going to bed. I have the first round tomorrow. 'Night." Corey then got up and, although not with his better judgment, left Derek and Jade alone and went into his own room, closing the door behind him. He took of his shirt and shoes, pants and socks and lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

_I made it to the single rounds…there are only four battles left, and I really hope I make it to the finals. Who knows…maybe I'll win…_ he smirked and closed his eyes, letting sleep come over him.

******

"Here we are, folks, the first round of the single matches in the tournament!" Yelled Kodo from the center ring of the arena. The crowds in the stands were cheering loudly, wanting to obviously see some bloodshed from the ring. Derek, Jade, Yusuke, Kurama and Hokashin all watched the screen, waiting for the battle to begin.

"How was Corey this morning?" asked Hokashin to Derek, who merely shrugged.

"Okay, I guess. He didn't talk much…but he's always like this when he knows he going into a big fight." Derek replied, smiling lightly.

Corey walked slowly up to the ring in the center of the large mushroom. He looked up, and hadn't realized how high up they were. It was at least thirty feet up, but that didn't matter to Corey. He got right up to it, and jumped the whole distance to the top of the ring, where a young girl was waiting for him.

She had brown hair, which was done in braids, and went down to about her waist. She wore a Gi, like himself, but hers was for girls and brown with a pink undershirt. She smiled at him,

"Hello, Corey Kartana. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Jessica."

"Hey there, Jessica. Likewise." He said, stretching out his arms a bit in readiness for the fight. The referee landed on her little hover thing and smiled at the two of them.

"You both know the rules. Try and make it a good fight. Good luck." And she started to fly off. Once out of range, she yelled, "Begin!!"

Jessica made the first move. She ran right at Corey, planted her right foot and gave a powerful kick right to Corey's face, who dodged to the left barely.

"Whoa! Hey, that was quick!" he said with a grin, "That probably would have hurt!"

"Just wait… it's only just starting!" she said smiling at him. She then started attacking him with a swarm of punches and kicks, which Corey was barely able to block, not dodge.

"You're good, Jessie!" Corey called out, blocking another kick with his arm. "How 'bout a date, later?" he asked with a wink.

"Maybe…I'll have to think about it!" She said grinning at him, using the wink as a blind spot and managing a punch in the side of his face. It automatically reddened Corey's face from the hit, and his head snapped to the side.

"Owww…" he said, rubbing his cheek. He looked back at the girl and smiled at her, "That was quite a punch, babe."

"Of course. I didn't make it this whole way for nothing." She said with a wink.

"Good point, but here's my Ace." He said, holding up his right hand and pointing out his index finger. A blue energy began to glow around the tip, and he grinned.

"This is my Spirit Gun. Its power could probably blow up this entire mushroom-dealie. Wanna see?" he asked, and to his surprise she nodded.

"Let's do it." She said, waiting for him to attack. Corey smiled and nodded. The energy grew and he pointed it right at Jessica, then just as quickly moved it a few inches to the side and shot. The blue beam of energy went right past her, causing her eyes to widen, and hit a nearby patch of greenery, completely destroying it and causing debris to fly past her. Corey used this time to move right behind her and grab her arm and twist it behind her back. She winced, but Corey held it.

"Give up?" he asked, and she looked up at him and smiled.

"Want me to?" she said, and then slammed her foot down on his foot.

"Yeeoww!" Corey yelled, jumping back and she leapt forward just a step, and delivered a kick to Corey's face again, making him go backwards a bit, but he kept his balance.

"That was coy…" Corey said, rubbing the side of his face again, still smiling.

******

"That idiot!!" Derek yelled, gripping the railing at where he was standing, "Stop messing around and beat her!" Jade looked at her boyfriend and blinked,

"Maybe he likes her? I believe you did about the same thing to me…" she said, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek, turning him red.

"Well…this is different…"

******

The fight continued with more punches and blocks, kicks and dodges. Corey slid to one side, and Jessica to the other. The two were both breathing rather heavily.

"I say we end this…I want that date…" Corey said, wiping a bit of blood on his lip.

"Maybe…we'll just see." Jessica replied and the two ran forward and cocked back their right arms, and then delivered powerful punches towards each of the other's cheeks.

The whole 'Don't hit girls' rule didn't apply to Corey, seeing as she was attacking him, too…but Corey didn't want mess up such a pretty face. Using her own force against her, Corey ducked quickly and grabbed her by the leg, lifted her up, and tossed her right out of the ring. She landed with a thud outside of it, and before the ref even called Corey the winner, he was hopping off the arena and landing right beside Jessica, who was just sitting up. Corey smiled at her and helped her up.

"Guess you owe me a date." He said with a smile. She returned the smile, but winked too.

"Maybe…if you become King of the Demons." She said, and before Corey could comment she gently grabbed the back of his head and leaned him in, kissing him on the lips. It lasted about ten seconds, and then she broke away and smiled, walking off. Corey merely stood there, and blinked.

"Heh…now I really gotta win."

******

"I can't believe you just did that." Derek said, glaring over at Corey as they waited for Jade to prepare for her battle. She had left before Corey got back, and he met Derek at the concessions area for an after fight snack.

"What? You did it with Jade, why can't I do it this time?" he said smirking and sipping on a cup of coffee.

"That was different! This is for the King of the Demon World!" He said, slamming down his own bottle of water.

"Eh…I don't see the problem. Besides, if I win, I get a date." Corey said laughing and finishing off the coffee. He stood up and threw the cup away, Derek following after him.

"Still…we're trying to win here, and you flirting with girls doesn't help…"

"Ha…there's no point in trying to make me stop flirting with girls…I'm Corey Kartana. It's in my nature. Now come on, the Thief's match is about to start, and I wanna see if she is either gonna win, or if I get another girl to flirt with."


	8. Jade and Derek Enter the Ring

_**Chapter 8**_

_Derek and Jade Enter the Ring_

Jade took a deep breath in and out as she patiently waited for her opponent to enter the arena. She was sitting down Indian style, hoping to get this thing started. She wasn't a patient person, so this whole waiting thing wasn't quite up her alley. Finally, the demon named Dina entered, and Jade stood up. Dina wore a simple kimono, pink of all colors, with a white belt. She had short brown hair, in a purple headband.

"Took you long enough…" Jade remarked, rubbing her wristbands into place.

"Sorry…" she said smiling, giving Jade a bow. The girl blinked and returned the bow slowly.

"Okay…ready, ladies?" asked the ref. They both nodded and she flew up into the air and then cried out, "Begin!"

Neither woman moved quite yet, at least not a move to get the battle started. Each began to move in a circle motion around one another, never letting the other gain or lose distance. Their eyes stared into one another's, and finally they dashed at each other. Jade unsheathed her katana, and swung which met with two miniature blades, a bit longer then daggers, and the three metals made contact with one another. The two glared at each other as they tried to force the other down.

******

"Damn I love a good chick fight!" Corey said, grinning like a kid at the carnival. Derek looked away from the fight and over at his friend,

"Dude! That's Jade fighting in there for her chance in the tournament!"

"So?" asked Corey, looking back at him, "Doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good chick fight!" He laughed and went back to watching, with Derek giving him a dark glare.

******

"Hyaa!" Jade shouted as she kicked her foot up at Dina, who leapt backwards to dodge it. It seemed neither demon had many special abilities, at least not demon wise. Jade had her powers of speed and agility. Dina seemed to be about the same. The two were just about equal. The two broke away from one another and slid to a stop, around ten feet away from each other. Both battlers were breathing a bit more heavily then before.

"So…you are fairly good." Dina said, smiling a bit,

"Yes…as are you, but I have to end this quick. I got things to do in this tournament, and I can't let a little girl like you beat me here." Jade replied, grinning at her. Dina smiled and the two ran at each other again, fists and kicks being thrown at each other with tremendous speed.

******

"She's fast…" Yusuke commented, watching as if he was just a normal member of the crowd. Hokashin looked over at him and nodded,

"Yes. She does seem to have great skill in martial arts. I hope she can make it to the next round."

"Yes, but the next round will be with Corey. To be perfectly fair, I don't think either of these ladies will stand much of a chance…" Yusuke said, rubbing his chin within his hood. Hokashin looked nearly shocked,

"Lord Urameshi! How can you say that?? That's being sexist!" Hokashin exclaimed, looking at Yusuke, who blinked.

"No it's not…I say that cause I trained the boy. Duh." He started laughing a bit and Hokashin merely shook his head.

******

It finally seemed like it was getting down to the wire with Jade and Dina. After about twenty minutes of straight punches and kicks, both females were getting tired. Jade smirked at Dina,

"Sorry, Hun, but I really have to finish this now." She said, moving her hands in front of her,

"What?" Dina asked, confused at the hand posture that Jade was showing.

All at once, an aura of demonic energy flustered out of the ex-thief. It was way more then she had been producing before at the beginning of the match. She smiled innocently at her opponent, and then seemingly vanished right in front of Dina. The quick move caught the other girl off guard, leaving Jade the moment to strike. She put her arm around the back of the woman's neck, pulled her close and then kissed her on the lips.

******

"Wahoo!!" Corey yelled, laughing a bit as he did. He looked over at his buddy, who's jaw seemingly dropped. "Hey, dude, your girlfriends kissing another girl!" he said, pointing out the obvious. Derek seemed to dumbstruck to reply. Corey laughed even more at him, and then looked back at the fight.

******

"Ah…the Death Kiss." Explained Yusuke, who under his hood was smiling, "I didn't realize Jade knew that technique." Hokashin looked over at him,

"What does the Death Kiss do, Lord Urameshi?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It drains the enemies demonic powers until they either pass out or die. I doubt Jade will use it to death, but this match is hers…and Derek is probably flipping out at the moment." He added, snickering a bit.

******

Jade held onto the kiss, until finally Dina's eyes rolled back in her head and she closed her eyes, passing out. Smiling, Jade gently set her down on the arena floor. She looked up at the referee, who nodded,

"And the winner by knock out, Jade!" she yelled. Jade smiled, holding up her hand in victory.

******

"Jeez, Thief, you should have saw your boyfriend over there, he really was flippin' shit!" Corey said, laughing.

He, Derek, Jade, Yusuke, and Hokashin were all sitting in the arena stands, watching the match with Chu and Myron. Derek and Jade were sitting next to one another, while Corey and Yusuke were sitting behind them, and Hokashin was standing in the aisle.

"Shut up, Corey! It was a strategy." Jade said, rubbing Derek's back lightly, "You know that, right Derek?"

"Y-yea…" Derek said, still in a bit of a shock, "Just don't do that to me." All of them laughed, and Jade smiled, leaning over and kissing him on the lips.

"Don't worry." She said, pulling back, "That's only for my enemies. " Corey grinned and looked over at Yusuke.

"I hope she doesn't use that on me!" he said in a whisper.

"Don't worry…Dina was a lot weaker then you. Jade wont be able to use that on you if you're quick." The two laughed, but Hokashin interrupted.

"It seems Chu is the victor." He said, pointing to the screen. They all look, and Chu was holding up both hands in victory.

"Great. I guess that means I gotta go get ready for my match." Derek said, standing up and leaving Jade's arms.

"You'll do great, pal." Corey reassured him, but Hokashin didn't look to happy, "What's your problem?" Corey asked him, looking over to him.

"Jin is a powerful warrior." He said, looking over at Derek, "Be careful, Derek." Derek merely nodded to him and then walked off. Corey looked over at Hokashin and glared,

"Great reassurance there, Hokashin." He snapped, and Hokashin looked a little confused. Corey sighed and looked over at Jade, smiling,

"He'll be fine, Thief. Derek's rivaled only by me." He said to her. Jade smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Corey. I know he'll do fine."

******

Derek exhaled deeply, as he waited for the last battle's mess. He took off his robes, leaving him in his fighting pants and shirt and nodded.

_Okay…I can do this. I know I can. I'll do it for everyone: Corey and Jade, Hiei and Mukuro, Yusuke and Hokashin…and you, Dia Jaganshi…I'm going to defeat you in the ring. _

The signal for Derek to head to the ring sounded, and he nodded, standing up and walking out of the room. It was a long path it seemed like to the young man, but maybe it was just nerves.

_Corey and Jade made it past their first battles, but if I don't then does that mean I'm weaker? No…I can't talk like that. I'll beat Jin._ He made it to the arena and looked up it, nodded once again, and leapt upwards to the top, where his opponent met him.

Jin was hovering in mid-air, sitting Indian style and grinning at Derek. He had pointed ears and bright red hair. He wore white baggy pants, but not shirt.

"Hello, Derek Maison, a pleasure it is to meetcha!" Jin said with a thick Irish accent. He also said it very quickly, which made it hard for Derek to understand it, but he managed.

"Hey there, Jin. Nice to meet you, too." Derek said, sounding slightly nervous. Jin must have caught onto it, because he floated over to Derek and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, pal. There's no use getting al nervous and jumpy before a match. It's all for fun, after all, and there ain't no killin'. Ol' Jin here doesn't take much love to killin', and I'm not about to start so lets just have a good round, aye?"

Derek blinked at how fast Jin spoke, and the fact that his Irish accent made it hard to understand him, but grinned and nodded.

"Right!"

"Thata boy!" Jin exclaimed, clapping. He floated back to his side and the ref nodded, floated up into the air and yelled,

"Begin the match!" All at once, a large wind appeared around Jin, like a tornado. Derek had to take a step back and cover his face from any debris that flew his way. Jin then blasted from the ground right way up into the sky, leaving Derek standing there with a blank look on his face,

"Uhh…did he run off?" Derek asked. He waited for a minute, then frowned and yelled into the air, "Jin! Hurry it up!" And almost as if he was waiting for that cue, a tornado of wind came hurling down from the sky above and heading right towards Derek.

"Here I come, boy-o!" Jin could be heard yelling through the sound of the wind. Derek braised himself, and soon Jin was right on top of him. He jumped out of the way to avoid the first hit, but Jin just circled right around and tried to hit him again.

"Jeez!" Derek exclaimed as he barely avoided another hit. Already ready to dodge the next attack, Derek waited intently, but Jin didn't come for the third strike. Instead, he held out his right fist and began to twirl it around in a small circle, until it finally made it's own little tornado around his arm.

"What?!" Derek yelled, holding up his fists. Jin snickered.

"My Tornado Fist. Powerful attack. Even gave Yusuke Urameshi a bit of trouble in the Dark Tournament."

"The what tournament??" asked Derek, but Jin dismissed it with a shake of his head,

"I'll tell ya another day, laddie!" He said and then flew straight at Derek, his fist ready to hit him.

"Aw, crap…" Derek said aloud, and tried to dodge the attack, but the Wind Master was too quick. Although not a direct hit, just a scathe from the wind sliced at his skin and shirt, ripping it off completely and leaving him with a large cut across his chest. "Shit!"

"How'd you like that, Derek Maison?" Jin asked smiling. Derek couldn't help but grin back, "It was intense, but allow me to show you my favorite move." Derek said, holding out his own right fist. His body soon began to spark with flames, and they all traveled to his right fist, causing it to encase in fire. "The Fist of the Mortal Flame!"

"Ah, ol' Hiei's move! I've seen it used in previous tournaments by him! I didn't realize he trained you!" Jin grinned and then held out both hands, twirling them around to create two new Tornado Fists. Derek grinned at this, and then held out his left fist, which, like its other, burst into flames.

******

"Two Mortal Flames??" Corey asked aloud, watching the battle with Jade and Yusuke. He looked over at Yusuke, who nodded,

"The Fist of the Mortal Flame may be Derek's signature technique, but like your Spirit Gun, it had a previous owner." He pointed at himself, "For the Spirit Gun, it was me. For the Mortal Flame…" He looked around for a second, and then pointed off to one of the other stands, where Hiei and Mukuro stood, "…is Hiei's."

"Wow…Hiei must have taught him a lot." Corey pointed out, and then continued watching the fight.

******

"Woo-whee! This is gonna get good!" Jin said, grinning at Derek, who was grinning back, "But remember, wind blows out candles!"

"Ha! Sorry to disappoint you, Jin, but this ain't no candle!" The two ran (glided in Jin's case) right at one another, and landed punches on the others fists. Just as he had planned, Jin's tornado's erupted into flames, "These are forest fires!"

"Whoa!!" Jin said in a start, backing off and putting out the wind tornados, but the surprise was all Derek needed. He jumped up and delivered a powerful Fist of the Mortal Flame right into Jin's cheek, causing him to go down hard out of the ring and into the dirt below.

"The winner…is Derek Maison!" Shouted the referee. Derek jumped down and landed next to Jin, who was standing up, smiling.

"What a match! I didn't even know my wind was flammable!"

"It really isn't…but my flames have a bit of a gasoline affect." He smirked and held out his hand for Jin to shake. Jin looked at him, grinned, and then shook his hand.

"What a match, Derek Maison! I can't wait to fight you again in the next tourney! I wont let ya get such a sneaky move off!" Jin laughed, and the two walked off out of the arena's area together. All the while, Hokashin and Yusuke prepared for their own matches.


	9. The Quarter Finals Begin

**Chapter 9**

The Quarter Finals Begin

"And the winner by knockout, Touya!" cried the referee. Touya, the Ice Master, stood there in victory over his opponent, and then walked off sight of the screen. Corey smiled, standing up and stretching as he did.

"Well, the next rounds start tomorrow, and it's Jade and me for the first round! Sounds like a blast!" He said, laughing. Derek and Jade looked at him and smirked.

"Someone's excited…" Derek commented. Corey looked over at Derek and grinned,

"Of course. It'll gimme a chance to finally fight her." He commented, pointing over at Jade.

The battles of the first round of the tournament were over. Hokashin unfortunately had no chance against Dia, surprising all but Derek with his tremendous power. He himself had trained with the man, so he knew it only too well. Yusuke also beat his opponent, Shishi, who accepted it with grace. Touya, one of Yusuke's old friends and ally, also made it to the next round. The Quarter Finals wouldn't begin until tomorrow, which gave all the warriors time to rest.

They all returned to Corey's room that night, playing cards with one another…except Hokashin, who was sulking in a corner. Yusuke looked over at Hokashin and laughed,

"Come on, Hokashin! Don't get all depressed about it. That guy was Hiei's son, and he was obviously trained by him and Mukuro." Yusuke explained, and Hokashin sighed and nodded.

"You're right…" although he didn't join them in cards, he merely left and went to his room.

"Poor guy…" Corey said, laying down a few cards and picking up another, "He really wanted to get far in the tournament."

"Oh well…not to sound like a bastard, but I'm kind of glad. I want to take on Dia." Derek explained, picking up one of Corey's cards and putting one of his down.

"Yea…well tomorrow is a big match for everyone." Jade said, smiling a bit and drawing a card. "Corey and I will be facing off, Chu will fight that Blitz guy, Derek fights Dia, and Yusuke fights Touya."

"Right…well, I'm off to bed. Good night everyone." Yusuke said, laying down his cards and standing up, "Get some rest." He walked off out of the room and into his own. Derek and Jade also stood, looking at Corey.

"G'night, Corey. See ya tomorrow." Derek said, walking out.

"Night Corey." Jade said, also leaving. Corey smiled and stood up, shutting the door. Corey went over and lay down on his bed, closing his eyes, and without a thought fell into a deep sleep.

******

Corey kept his eyes closed as he waited for Jade to enter the ring. He really didn't know how to feel about this battle. It was Derek's girlfriend, but she was his opponent.

_I got no choice but to kick her ass…_ he thought to himself, and then heard the approaching footsteps of his opponent. He opened his eyes and looked at Jade as she came over to him, smiling.

"Hello, Corey." She said, her hands at her side.

"Hey there, Thief. I guess we finally get to fight each other, eh?" He said, putting his hands behind his head. The referee flew up into the air and raised her hand.

"Let the first match of the quarter finals begin!!" she yelled.

Neither combatant moved. They stared each other down, eyeing one another.

_Okay…here we go…I can't just stand here and wait!_ Corey thought to himself, and nodded to Jade, then ran forward. She knew the nod and ran towards him as well.

Not wanting to use his weapon against Jade, he had kept it sheathed. The two fighters fist's made contact with one another's. Demon and spirit energy erupted through out the tournament's arena, but both of them were grinning at each other.

"Well, Thief, it looks like you're not all talk after all! You're pretty strong!" Corey yelled, but not in anger, in excitement. He had always wanted to take on Jade, although never admitting it. Derek was pretty easy to jealous. Jade smirked back at him,

"Yes, Corey. I've gotten a little bit better since Shura's attack on the Earth. I hope you trained as well."

"Ha! Of course I did! I'm winning this tourney!" Corey then broke away from the girl, and then held out his right index finger and charged. Jade grinned and held out her hands, palms towards Corey. A demonic wall began to flow around it.

******

"Go Corey…I mean, go Jade! I mean…shit!" Derek was having trouble on whom to root for in this match. His best friend, and his girlfriend were the ones who were fighting, so how could he choose?

"Hey, it's all right, Derek." Came a voice from behind him. Derek turned to see Yusuke, still shrouded in his robes. Derek smirked a little bit,

"Yea…I know, but man. I can't decide who to cheer for!"

******

"Spirit Gun!!"

"Demonic Shield!" The blue blast from Corey's spiritual energy erupted from his finger, only to hit right into Jade's demon shield. It was a purplish color, and when the energy of the bullet hit, it evaporated, negating the shield as well. Corey blinked a bit and smirked,

"Damn! Nice move, Thief!" Corey said, laughing a little.

"Thank you. I'm glad you approve." She said, smiling and moving her hands back into a fighting position.

"Yea, well, that wont do you much good. I'm a pretty good fighter at hand to hand, too." He said, smiling and raising his own fists. They both nodded to each other, and then ran at one another. It took only a split second for both fighters to reach the other.

Corey took the first attack, delivering a powerful right hook right to Jade's face, which made contact and making her stumble a little. He tried to deliver a knee to her stomach, but she got her balance and jumped back out of range, and gave Corey a swift kick to the side of his head, although he didn't budge…not that it didn't hurt.

"I'm to hard headed for that!" Corey yelled, and threw a punch back at her. She blocked it with her arm, and Corey attempted one with his other fist, this one making contact with her chest. Corey grinned, and Jade turned red and gave Corey a furious slap to the face.

******

"Corey, you son of a bitch!!!" Derek screamed at the screen, "I swear to God if you do that again, I'll…" He stopped and turned to look over at Yusuke, who was laughing his head off at the action. "You shut up, too!"

******

Corey rubbed his now red cheek, and defended against an onslaught of punches and kicks, which Corey blocked and dodged. Corey just merely defended for now, watching carefully,

_Punch, punch, left, right, kick, punch… there's a pattern! _Corey grinned even more now, and just as Jade was about to deliver the left kick, he ducked to the right and filled his energy into his right fist and went right into her stomach with it. Jade buckled back, a bit of blood being coughed up as she did. Corey nodded, and then gave her another spirit punch right under her chin, sending her flying out of the ring and onto the dirt ground below.

"And the winner by ring out, Corey Kartana!!" Yelled the ref. Corey grinned and held up his hand in victory, just like the last battle with Jennifer. He smiled and jumped off of the ring and looked at Jade, who was standing up and rubbing underneath her chin. He held out his hand to her to shake,

"Good match, Thief." He said waiting for her to shake his hand. She sighed and nodded, smiling back at him,

"Yes…it was enjoyable, Corey. I hope you make it to the finals like you hoped."

"Ha! Just make it? I'm planning on winning the whole thing, there, Thief!" He grinned cockily, and then nodded, and the two exited the arena.

******

"Corey, you jerk!" Derek yelled, throwing a punch at Corey, who barely dodged it.

"Hey, pal! What the hell was that for?!" Corey yelled back, glaring at him. It was right after the match with Corey and Jade, and needless to say Derek was a little angered with Corey's chest shot to Jade.

"You totally felt her up!" Derek yelled, but Corey just laughed,

"No I didn't! I was just going for the best possible shot!" He grinned, and headed over to the concession stands to buy something to eat. It was a tough fight, even for him. _Either or, Jade was tough. If I hadn't had an extra four months of training, I might not be the victor. Couple years from now she'll easily be my equal._

******

While Derek had gone to go get ready for his match against Dia, Jade, Yusuke and Hokashin were all eating and resting up. Corey on the other hand, had gone for a walk while watching the fight with Chu and Blitz. Both fighters were tough, that's for sure. Chu was mostly a muscle demon, while Blitz used electricity to fight. Even though it seemed like Blitz would have the advantage, Chu was seemingly a strong opponent. Of course, Corey was curious as to why the demon always had a bottle of whiskey in his hand.

_A drunken fighter, eh? Sounds interesting…_ Corey smirked and kept walking, only to find Dia Jaganshi standing there, also watching the combatants. Corey frowned lightly and began to walk past him, but the demon held out his arm to stop him.

"You know, human, I fight your friend next." He said darkly. Corey didn't look back at him.

"I know…so I hope you have a good morgue set up." Corey said, smirking. Dia glared at him,

"Quite the opposite. Maison is no match for me and my…abilities." Corey now turned to look at him, frowning again.

"Abilities?" he asked, curious. Dia merely laughed,

"It's nothing that a human like you could even comprehend. Let's just say, if you and I do meet in the finals, which I doubt, I will destroy you." And with that last little threat, Dia walked off, leaving Corey frowning at him.

_His demon energy isn't nearly that of either Yusuke or Hiei's, but I still can't help but worry about Derek. Be careful, pal._

******

"And the winner of the second match in the quarter finals is Chu!" Cried the announcer over the loud speaker. Chu held up both hands and roared loudly and Yusuke had to chuckle at his friend.

"Wow…over 75 years since I met him, and he hasn't changed in the least. Amazing." Jade blinked and looked over at Yusuke and tilted her head to the side,

"When did you meet him, Yusuke? In the first Demon World Tournament?" Yusuke looked over at her and shook his head,

"No, actually. I met him in what is called the Dark Tournament, a human held tournament with demons as the fighters. Me and my friends were forced to fight in it, and that's where I met Chu…along with Jin, Touya, and a few others."

"What happened to that tournament? I've lived in Human World for awhile, but I've never heard of it." She admitted, but Yusuke held up his hand.

"That's because we destroyed the tournament arena, and the tournament committee was…well…disposed of, prior to the tournament's end." Yusuke stood up and looked over at the screen, "I'm glad to see that Chu won the match. He will be a good match for Corey." He looked over at Jade, finding her glaring over at him. He held up his hands in defense.

"Not that you weren't, of course!" he said, hastily. Jade sighed and then looked back to the screen,

"Oh! Derek's starting!" She said, and then looked at Yusuke who was standing up, "You can't watch?"

"No, sorry. I have to prepare for my match." He bowed lightly and then walked off, leaving Jade to watch her boyfriend and his rival walk onto the screen.

_Good luck, Derek…_


	10. Battle of Flames

_**Chapter 10**_

_A Battle of Flames: Derek vs. Dia_

Derek and Dia stared each other down as the referee flew into the air and called the start of the fight. A breeze flew through the air, which picked up a few leaves from the surrounding trees. As the leaves were about to hit Derek and Dia, they all burst into flames. Derek slowly withdrew his katana, and Dia did the same with his own.

"So, Maison…we finally get to finish our little bout." Dia said, smiling wickedly. His bandana, which was over his forehead, suddenly burned up, revealing a third eye, just like Hiei's. Derek frowned and readied his blade.

_The Jagan eye is an extent of one's accuracy and ability. Dia inherited his from Hiei…which puts me at a bit of a disadvantage… _Derek though to himself as he watched Dia carefully. The last time they fought, Dia had him beat in speed, and that's where this fight was going to come down to…agility.

Derek slowly walked towards Dia, who merely stood there smiling at him. With a slight pause, Derek suddenly charged at him with incredible speed. His blade was up and just as quickly countered by Dia's.

"Damn it!" Derek yelled as the steel crossed together and the two began to dual. Slash after slash, it seemed like the two were pretty much equal with power as the battle raged on.

******

"Come on, Derek! Show that cocky bastard whose boss!" Corey yelled from the stands.

From the camera point of view, it seemed like it was all just quick flashes of light, but Corey knew better. The speeds of the two fighters on screen now were close to the speed of sound. Even he was amazed that he was able to keep up so well. He glanced over at Jade and Yusuke, who were also able to follow. Jade seemed to be having a bit of trouble, and with Yusuke, well…the guy always wore a hood so it was hard to tell what he was looking at. Corey smirked and looked back at the fight.

_You can do this, pal. Just concentrate. _

******

"You think my father's training was good enough for you, Maison??" Dia shouted over the sounds of metal slamming into one another, "You are a fool! Allow me the pleasure of showing you the strength of a true fire apparition!" He then broke away from the sword match, and held up his right hand, which began to engulf in flames. Derek quickly recognized the attack.

"Fist…of the Mortal Flame!" Dia roared, as the fire seemed to replace his entire arm. Derek glared and switched his katana to his left hand, and began performing the Mortal Flame on his own right hand.

Fire blazed through the arena as the two battlers stared each other down once more, but this time with fire on each of their fists. It seemed like both knew what the other was thinking as they ran at each other once again. The cocked back their fists and swung at the other, both making contact with the other's face.

"Ugh!" Derek said as blood spurted out of his mouth once Dia's fist had made contact.

"Grr…" Dia growled, Derek's fist doing the same. Both jumped away from the other as they breathed deeply. The attacks seemed to do a lot of damage to both, but it seemed that it was more of a pride thing now then anything else.

"Well, Jaganshi…how did that feel?" Derek asked, grinning a little bit despite the blood on his teeth, "Still think I'm not worth fighting?"

"Heh…you are decent, Maison, but no match for me, cause you see…I will always have the advantage." Dia's third eye soon began to pulsate a dark blue color. Derek had no idea what this meant, but he wasn't going to let Dia get him off guard.

The three-eyed demon then threw off his robes, leaving him in pants and a shirt, all black, and a white bandage all the way up his left arm. He began to unravel the white bandage, and Derek gasped as he saw a black tattoo on his arm, looking a lot like the shape of a dragon.

******

"Dia is going to use the Dragon…" Hiei commented quietly. He glanced over at Mukuro, who was watching quietly next to him in their private booth.

"Yes, it would seem he is." Mukuro agreed.

"Derek and Dia are a lot alike, but Derek doesn't know how to use the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. Dia inherited it naturally from me. Derek might not be able to win this match." Hiei rubbed his chin, full of thought. Mukuro picked up on this and smiled at him,

"You'd rather your apprentice win than your son?" she asked putting her arms around him. Hiei smiled lightly,

"I'd rather my son know the feeling of defeat at the hands of his rival, then at one of a true enemy. Dia has never lost a match, except with me, and he needs to find out what it's really like." Hiei gave a light sigh, "If he doesn't…he will never become a true warrior…"

******

Derek took a step back as he felt Dia's demonic power become stronger. There was something…different about it then before.

_What the hell is he doing?_ Derek thought quickly to himself. This new energy was actually frightening Derek. Shaking his head quickly, he held out both of his hands and the Mortal Flame engulfed both of his fists. Dia looked at him and laughed,

"Do you honestly think that the Fist of the Mortal Flame could ever beat…the Dragon of the Darkness Flame??" Dia yelled manically, his teeth showing in his grin.

"What?!" Derek asked in shock. _The Dragon of the Darkness Flame? Hiei's special attack? No…way…_ Derek shook his head, trying to get the thought of his mind.

"That doesn't matter, you bastard! I'll still take you out!" Derek ran at Dia and jumped forward, then began an onslaught of punches with the Mortal Flame going at full force. Unfortunately, no attack seemed to do anything against the other demon. His energy that surrounded him soon turned into black flames, and the Jagan Eye opened fully.

"Now…prepare yourself, Maison, for the Dragon of the Darkness Flame!!"

******

"No! Derek, come on!!" Corey yelled, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, "You can beat some dumb ass dragon!"

"Corey…" Yusuke said quietly, and Corey turned to look at him, "He might not be able too…Derek is strong, yes, but the Black Dragon attack is stronger, especially at Dia's current power level. I…don't think Derek will make it out of this one…"

"You're wrong!" came the voice of Jade, who until this moment had been dead silent. She rose and stared at both Corey and Yusuke, tears rolling down her face, "Derek _will_ win! I know it!"

"Thief…" Corey said quietly, and then looked back to the screen, "I hope you're right…"

******

Derek began to sweat from the immense heat of the flames that were immersing from Dia. The black fire was quickly growing, and giving Derek even less maneuverability in the ring. Dia began to laugh and extended his right arm.

"Here we go, Maison! Welcome to Hell! Dragon…of the Darkness Flame!!"

And then, all Hell truly broke loose.

Through the tattoo on Dia's arm came loose a black dragon, made entirely of black flames. Derek's eyes widened in horror as the dragon was unleashed. He quickly jumped upward, avoiding the first lash out of the dragon. The dragon did not give up so easily, as it turned back around and attacked once again. It even let out a large roar as it attacked. Derek once again dodged, rolling on the ground as he tried to escape.

_Dammit!! What the hell?! Why didn't Hiei warn me about this?!_ Derek thought to himself as he kept trying to avoid the Black Dragon.

_I can't keep this up! It's…too powerful!_

******

"Derek!!!" Corey and Jade both yelled as they watched their friend barely dodging the fiery dragon. Corey dug his nails into his palm as he clenched his fist. He did it so tight that blood actually began to run down his hand. Jade could barely even watch. Yusuke was silent as he watched the attacks.

_He's just like Hiei, that's for sure…but so is Derek. I wonder if he is going to do what I think he might do…_

******

"Aaaahhhh!!" Derek cried as the dragon nicked his left arm. It immediately burst into flames as he fell to the ground in pain, clutching it with his right hand. His robes had already burned off, leaving him with his fighting pants and half of a shirt. He continued gripping his arm as he watched the dragon hover around Dia like a bodyguard.

"Well, Maison. How do you like my little friend?" Dia asked, erupting into laughter as Derek just stood there, gripping his arm.

_What can I do? I don't have any attack that can pierce that flame…unless… _His mind then suddenly sat on the tale of how Hiei had first acquired the dragon.

It was during the Dark Tournament, and Hiei was up against another fire demon. He had out matched him with his fire, leaving Hiei with no option but to summon the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. He had to offer his right arm, but the dragon took the bate and was unleashed upon the other demon. Unfortunately, it left his right arm nearly useless. He prevailed and later mastered the dragon, but not without extended training during tournament breaks.

_I don't have the time after this to do that, but I'm pretty sure I have the power to do the first…even without the help of the Jagan Eye…_ Derek slowly rose to his feet and grinned up at Dia, who looked a little confused at the sudden confidence of his opponent.

"What are you smiling about?" Dia asked, glaring and keeping the dragon at bay for now. Derek smiled and held out his right arm and then began to concentrate.

A small black fire began to spark around his hand and arm.

******

"So…Derek is going to attempt it as well…" Hiei said, staring down at the match, "I hope he knows what he's doing."

"I'm sure he does. He's a smart kid." Mukuro said, watching as well.

******

"Whoa…what's he doing?" Asked Corey, bewildered.

"The Darkness Flame…" Yusuke said simply, just watching. Corey blinked and looked over at him.

"What? But…but Derek doesn't know the Dragon Flame attack, does he??" he asked, and Yusuke shook his head.

"No…he is starting from scratch, just like Hiei did 75 years ago…"

"So…what will happen?" asked Jade, staring up at Yusuke, but he didn't respond. Jade bit her lip and looked back at the screen. Corey stared at her for a moment and then also looked back.

"Derek…don't do anything stupid…"

******

"You're not honestly going to try and use the same technique that I am, are you Maison??" Dia yelled, still holding the dragon. Derek grit his teeth, and soon the flame in his hand grew to the extent of his arm.

"Of…course. If it's really…the only way to beat you…" Derek said, struggling to talk. It was taking all his energy to conjure up this power, and he needed just a little more time.

"I wont let you!!" Dia screamed, and sent the dragon to attack Derek. It roared and went, but as it was just about to hit, a black flame erupted around Derek, and the dragon seemed to be reflected against it.

"Now!! Dragon… of… the Darkness… Flame!!!" Derek roared, and thrust his arm forward, his own black dragon flying out of it with a loud roar.

The two dragons met and spiraled around one another in the air, black fire going everywhere. The referee had already retreated to a safe area, but at the moment it seemed no spot was safe from the two Black Dragons. The roared and literally battled another in the air.

"You can't beat me, Maison!! I…I've mastered the Dragon!!" Dia yelled, as it seemed that his dragon was losing.

"That doesn't matter, Jaganshi!! I…I will win!!" Derek gave the dragon one last boost of power, and it then proceeded to swallow the other dragon, and then blast down upon Dia. The flames of the dragon then spread to Derek, getting him too.

******

"Damn it! Derek!" Corey yelled, jumping up out of his seat and running somewhere.

"Corey!! Where're you going?" Yelled Jade, following him.

"To go help Derek!" The two then ran off, leaving Yusuke watching them go. He smiled to himself and then looked back to the screen.

******

_Am…am I dead? _Derek thought to himself, but soon found that he was being lifted up. He opened his eyes and saw that it was Corey who was doing it.

"C-corey?" Derek asked, confused on what was going on. Corey looked at him and grinned.

"What's up, Dragon Boy?" Corey asked, smiling at him. Jade was next to him, also helping get Derek to his right balance.

"Derek…I'm so glad you're okay…" she said, near tears. Derek smiled at her and then looked around.

"Where's Dia?" he asked, and they all looked over at where Dia lay, unconscious. Derek smirked and nodded, "Good…"

"Well, pal, it looks like you and me both got into the semi-finals." Corey stated, "So…you have until tomorrow to really get ready. Derek? Derek?" He looked down, seeing his friend passed out from the stress on his body.

"Aw, well. I'll take on the rest." Corey smiled, and then he and Jade helped carry their friend back to a place to rest.


	11. The Semi Finals

_**Chapter 11**_

_Corey vs. Chu: The Semi-Finals _

Corey yawned and opened his eyes as he rolled himself out of his bed. It was the day after the quarterfinals, and needless to say Yusuke had beaten Touya and would be facing Derek today in the semis, while Corey would face off against Chu. Corey met Touya after the match, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. He reminded him a lot of Kurama.

The young man showered and changed into his fighting Gi, and gave himself a quick shave. He walked out of the bathroom and poured himself a cup of coffee, drinking it down swiftly and then heading out of the room and into Derek's.

His best friend was not as up and at 'em as Corey was. He was bandaged up, his right arm mostly. After the dragon, it had left his arm almost completely black. Besides that, there weren't that many wounds on him. He had just used up so much of his demonic energy that it left him very weak.

"Derek…come on, man, we gotta go meet up with the others." Corey said, pushing on the mattress that Derek was sleeping on until he finally opened his eyes and glared at Corey.

"Alright…I'm up…" Derek mumbled, sitting up slowly and rubbing his burned arm. Corey left the room so that Derek could change, and after a few minutes he came out wearing a new set of robes, hiding his bandaged arm. He looked over at Corey and frowned,

"Corey…make sure…that Jade doesn't know how bad I really am. To be honest…I doubt I'll make it to far against Yusuke today." He said quietly. Corey knew what he meant.

Derek's demon power had only recovered about 20% of its max power, and it probably wouldn't be any better until he recovers his arm.

"All right, pal. I won't say anything…" Corey replied, and Derek nodded.

_Not that she doesn't already know…_ Corey thought to himself as the two exited the room, heading towards the tournament stadium.

******

"Derek! Corey!" Jade called out, waving at the two. She was waiting for them at the front gate of the arena. They smiled and nodded to her, Corey waving a bit.

"Where's Yusuke?" asked Derek, looking around. Jade smiled at him softly.

"He said he had something to do." She explained, shrugging lightly. Corey and Derek looked at each other and shrugged as well. Putting his hands in his pockets, Corey started to turn a different way.

"I'll see you guys later…after I win." He said, winking and walking off, leaving Derek and Jade alone.

"Derek…are you okay?" Jade asked, looking at Derek quietly, who was just standing there, absent-mindedly rubbing his hurt arm. He looked at Jade and smiled,

"Of course…I'm just excited to see Corey fight, that's all. Come on, let's get a good seat." He said, and began to walk off. Jade sighed lightly, and nodded, following after him.

******

Corey exhaled quietly as he walked towards the arena, hands still in his pockets. He was ready to do this. For the first time in this tournament, he wasn't nervous at all for the oncoming battle. He jumped up into the arena and spotted the man who was his opponent.

Chu had a blue Mohawk, and large muscles to boot. He had a few tattoos on his face and arms, mostly just blue lines and what not. As per usual, he had a bottle of whiskey in his hand, half gone already. He stood at least six inches higher then Corey, who looked up at him.

"So…you're Chu." Corey said, smirking at him. Chu laughed and nodded, taking another chug of his drink.

"Aye, and you must be Corey Kartana." His voice had a very thick Australian accent, "Pleasure to meet you, kiddo!" He laughed and held out his hand. Corey blinked and looked at his hand, then shook it.

"Yup. Nice to meet you too, Chu." Corey said grinning. His hand tightened around Chu's, but it was hardly anything compared to his larger hand. It seemed twice as big as his. They let go and smirked at each other.

"Now, let's have us a ripper of a fight!" Chu said, his demon energy bursting out of him now. It was strong, that's for sure.

"Ha! Sounds like a good idea, Chu! Let's do this!" Corey yelled back, blasting his spiritual energy back at him. The match had started, and the two were both flexing their energies back at one another. Blue and red energy shot around, both just about equal.

Finally, the two went at each other. Corey ran at first, followed quickly by Chu. Corey actually had to jump up to reach Chu's face as he gave a strong right hook to Chu's cheek. Chu laughed as it hit him, even though Corey could tell it hit him hard.

The large Australian belted him strong on the stomach, nearly knocking the wind out of Corey. It tossed him backwards a few feet, but he landed on his feet and jumped towards Chu again. The two began to throw punches at each other with force that could knock down brick walls.

******

"Heh…Chu really hasn't changed since we met." Yusuke commented as he waited for his and Derek's match to begin. Derek stood next to him, still breathing a little hard.

Yusuke noticed this and smiled at him. "Derek, are you all right?"

"Yea…I'm fine…" Derek replied, rubbing his right arm. It was starting to hurt him again, even with the tightened bandages over them.

_Damn…come on, I can at least hold my katana, right? _He went to draw it from his sheath, merely to feel an intense pain coming from his hand and arm. Unknown to Derek, Yusuke was watching and sighed silently.

_Derek…try not to over do it…_

******

Corey swung his foot back and hit Chu hard in the side of the head with a jump kick, sending the demon hurling backwards. He landed on his hands and feet, but Corey was already running at him again, grinning.

"Yee-ha!" Corey called out, having a great time with this fight. It was all power. No spirit energy or demon energy. Just plain fighting at this point, and neither fighter would have it any other way. This was going to be a match of muscle, not energy…at least, not for now.

"Damn, kid! This is great! I haven't had a good time like this since Yusuke stopped competing in tournaments! How are you doing?" Chu asked, grinning at him. Corey was breathing a little heavily, but he held up his hand in a thumb up.

"Oh yea…this is great. Time of my life!" He laughed, and it was soon joined by Chu. The two laughed for a few minutes, actually, until finally Corey stopped it, smiling.

"Okay, Chu. Let's see what else you got." Corey said, wiping some blood off of his lip.

"Oh? And what do you have in mind?" Chu asked, letting his arms rest at his side. Corey smiled and held up his right hand, extending his index finger.

"How're you at energy attacks?" Corey asked as spiritual energy began to flow around his finger. Chu looked a little surprised, but grinned,

"So! You really do know how to use Yusuke's Spirit Gun! Ripper!" He laughed and reached into his back pocket and pulled out a flask. Corey blinked, and waited,

"This is my special technique!" Chu undid the cap and gulped it down. He suddenly began to sway back and forth. Corey watched carefully, still holding his hand still.

"You see, mate, I'm what you call a master of the drunken fighting style, and the more liquor the better for me when it comes to fightin'!" He held out his palm, and a red orb appeared in it. It was full of energy, powerful energy.

"So…that's your power, eh? Fine!" Corey aimed and grinned, "Ready to do this??"

"Of course!" Chu laughed, and at the same time that Corey shot his Spirit Gun, Chu threw the red orb right at him. The two hit one another, and sparks flew as they touched. Corey jumped to the side and began to run at Chu as the energies faded away, and Chu did the same to Corey. The human boy quickly charged another bullet, and the demon engulfed his fist in his own demonic energy.

******

"Come on, Corey! You can do it!" Called out Jade from the stands. She felt a little alone, seeing as Derek and Yusuke were off getting ready for their match, and Hokashin was who knows where.

"Jade!" Came a voice from behind her. She blinked and turned around, only to find Liz and Kurama walking towards her. Well, Liz was running. Jade grinned happily.

"Liz! Kurama! What're you guys doing?" She asked, happy to see her two friends here. Liz hugged Jade, and Kurama smiled at her.

"Well, I decided to go and get Liz from the Human World, seeing as she is your friend." He said, smiling.

"So how are you all doing?" Liz asked. Jade sighed a little, rubbing the back of her head.

"Well, I actually lost to Corey in the quarterfinals, and Derek won his match against Dia Jaganshi." She said, and Kurama actually blinked a bit.

"Dia Jaganshi? Hiei's son? Impressive." Kurama said with a smile, "And I'm also impressed with you, Jade. You did very well for your first tournament." Jade smiled and nodded,

"Thank you, Kurama." She said. Liz looked around for a moment, then back to Jade.

"Where are the boys, anyways?" she asked, putting her hands behind her head.

"Well, Derek is getting ready for his match, and Corey is, well…" she pointed at the screen, where Corey and Chu continued to battle. Liz gasped and quickly looked up.

"All right, Corey!" she yelled, grinning at him, "Beat him down!"

******

"Spirit Gun!" Corey yelled as he closed in on Chu, another spirit bullet blasting towards the large demon. Chu held out his hand that had the energy in it and actually absorbed the attack in a flash of light.

"Gonna take more then that, mate…wha-?"

Chu gasped in surprise, as Corey appeared right in front of him. His fist was absorbed in spiritual energy. Chu had no time to react as Corey delivered a full strength blow right under his chin, delivering an uppercut that sent Chu flying into the air. Corey knew that wouldn't be the end of him. He jumped up and held out his index finger, and delivered a spirit bullet right into Chu's stomach, which caused him to get shot down into the arena floor, giving an imprint of him into the ground. Corey landed and looked at him, out of breathe.

"One…two…three!" the ref started to count, and Corey watched him, breathing heavily. It was only now that he actually began to feel the wounds of the punches from Chu. Blood was coming down from his forehead and lip, and his arm was really bruised.

"Good match, Chu…it really was ripper." He grinned.

"Nine…ten! And the winner of the semi finals, is Corey Kartana!!" Yelled the ref, and Corey held up his hand, as is tradition.

"One more to go!" Corey yelled into the camera. He walked over to Chu, who was just standing up, and grinning…to Corey's relief.

"Good match, mate. You're aces in my book." Chu said, patting Corey hard on the shoulder. Corey winced, and fell forward onto the ground in pain.

"Whoops…you okay, mate?" Chu asked, helping Corey up.

******

"Corey!!" Liz exclaimed running up to Corey and hugging him. Corey blinked and winced a bit as she did it. Liz stepped back and smiled at him, "Great job! You're going to the finals!"

"Yup…but what're you doing here, Liz?" asked Corey, then he noticed Kurama. "Kurama!" He said, smiling.

"Hello, Corey. Excellent match against Chu. He's a tough opponent."

"To right, I am!" Chu said, walking up to the group and grinning over at Kurama, "Hey there, Kurama! Damn good to see you again!" Chu said, giving Kurama the same hard pat he given Corey. Kurama merely smiled and let it happen, but then looked onto the screen.

"Oh! It looks like Derek's fight is about to start with Yusuke." He said, pointing it out. They all turned to watch. Corey frowned lightly, knowing what was going to happen. Jade had explained the situation to Kurama and Liz, so they all knew what Derek's condition was.

******

Derek stood there as Yusuke walked towards him slowly, hands at his side. Derek was already breathing heavily and clutching his arm. Yusuke stopped.

"Derek…you take the first attack, all right?" he said calmly. Derek merely nodded and began to step forward. He then broke out into a run and got right up to Yusuke, cocked his fist back, and delivered a punch to the demon's hooded face. Yusuke didn't budge, but the attack seemed to be all Derek had, and he fell forward, hitting the ground hard as he did. The ref ten counted him, and the match was over in under a minute. Yusuke smiled under his hood and lifted Derek up, who had passed out.

"Derek…you did well against Dia. When you have time to rest, I will be more then glad to fight you again." And with that, Yusuke walked out of the arena, Derek's good arm over his shoulder as he did.

_And in one week, I will finally get to test my demonic powers. Corey…I hope you have what it takes…_


	12. Stories of the Past

_**Chapter 12**_

_Stories of the Past_

"Two more days and the final rounds begin!" Corey announced, biting into his hot dog.

It was him, Derek, Jade and Liz all at the concession stands, enjoying a meal. Derek was still nursing his wounded right arm, but at least he wasn't wincing as bad. He had gotten most of his demonic powers back, at least. Corey was wearing his street clothes: t-shirt, jeans, tennis shoes and a sweatshirt and hat, which he wore backwards. Derek had also gone back to his human clothes, but kept the long white bandage that wrapped up his right arm. Liz and Jade were both wearing Japanese kimonos and had their hair done up.

"Where are Kurama and Yusuke?" asked Derek, who was munching on a hamburger.

"Oh, they wanted to visit with Hiei and Mukuro." Corey said, finishing up his hot dog, "A reunion or whatever, I don't know."

"Well, this is like a reunion for us, Corey!" Liz stated, pointing at him, "I haven't seen any of you in a year!"

"You're not the only one, Liz." Jade said, smiling and wrapping her arm around Derek, "We all trained separately for this, and only just got reunited a couple weeks ago."

"True story." Corey said, putting his hands behind his head, "It's nice hanging out with everyone again." He smirked and closed his eyes a little.

The three of them stared at him, blinking a bit. Corey sensed this and opened one eye to stare at them. "Can I help you?"

"Corey…aren't you worried about the finals at all?" Jade asked, "I mean, you're going up against one of the old Demon Lords! I'd be nervous…"

"I'm fine. The man trained me after all…I'll be fine." Corey said, closing his eyes again. His three friends looked at one another and shrugged. Corey soon found himself lost in thought.

_They're right, though. I should feel nervous about this whole thing, but I don't. I'm more excited for the challenge then anything else. My last huge fight was with Shura…even though Chu, Jade and Jessica were all more powerful then he was…but why am I so excited? _Corey stood up and grinned at his friends,

"I'm going for a walk." He said.

"Uh, okay. Catch ya later, pal." Derek said, blinking one and wondering what he was up too. Corey gave a slight wave and walked off, putting his hands in his pockets as he did. Derek looked back at Jade and Liz.

"Think he'll be okay?" he asked once Corey was out of sight.

"I dunno…he seems distant. He's probably just excited about the fight with Yusuke." Jade said, yawning a bit and resting her head on Derek's left shoulder.

"I guess…" Derek said, smiling at Jade but then looking up at the red demonic sky. _Don't get hasty, Corey. You're only human, after all._

_******_

Corey sighed as he walked through the tournament's arena. There wasn't much he could do at this point but walk around. The finals weren't for another two days, after all. Even with this fact, there was a number of demons wandering about, buying tourist crap and what not.

_Pointless…_ Corey thought to himself as he watched people waste their money on demonic items. _Demons are a lot like humans at times… _

He kept walking until he spotted a familiar face. It was Mukuro, sitting in a booth. She turned and spotted Corey and smiled at him, and waved him up. Corey nodded and walked up to her and waved slightly.

"Hey, Mukuro…what's up?" he asked, taking a seat near her.

"Not a lot, Corey, just watching the demons wander about." She replied, closing her eyes. Corey blinked a bit, then a thought struck him.

"So…what happened with Dia?" Corey asked, putting his foot up on the railing. Mukuro smiled and reopened her eyes, looking at him.

"He left. Said he needed to train more. His loss to Derek had quite the affect on him…a good affect, I believe." She chuckled lightly, "He is just as cocky as his father is."

"How did you and Hiei ever get together, Mukuro? I mean, you're nothing alike!" Corey blurted out, then realized what he said and turned slightly red, rubbing the back of his head, "Sorry…" Mukuro merely laughed and smiled at the young man.

"No, it's all right. You see Hiei and I were once a lot alike. We still are actually; he just likes to keep that persona on instead of his newer one. Hiei and I met when I asked King Yama if I could recruit Hiei for my army."

"Your army??" Corey asked quickly, "You had an army?"

"Yes…it was 75 years ago, back when Raizen and Yomi were still alive. We each had are own agenda, and were at a stand off, and had been for over 400 years."

"Wow…400 years…" that time seemed so long, and yet Mukuro still looked very young. "So what happened next?"

"Well, I recruited Hiei, Yomi recruited Kurama, and Raizen recruited Yusuke. Each of them ended up becoming the kings second in command after only a year."

"Okay, I get why Raizen chose Yusuke, but why'd you take Hiei and Yomi take Kurama?" Corey asked.

The story intrigued him. He had always had a passion for knowledge, even though his teachers back home would say otherwise.

"Yomi wanted Kurama because they were old partners 1000 years ago, back when Kurama was still Yoko Kurama. They were thieves, and Yoko ran the show then, while Yomi was his second in command. I really don't know much else about it. You might want to ask Kurama one day."

"Okay, well what about you and Hiei?" Mukuro suddenly seemed to daze off into a dream. Corey stared at her, wondering what was on her mind. After a few moments, she finally snapped out of it and smiled at Corey.

"I was in love…right when I saw him. Hiei was so much like me…we shared the same pain, and that made me fall in love." She smiled and stared off at nothing again. Wherever she was in her mind, it must have been a nice place. She looked over at Corey.

"Is there someone in this world or yours that you love, Corey?" The young man blinked and rubbed the back of his head, grinning,

"Nope. Sorry, Mukuro. I'm to young to know what love is!" Corey stated, and the woman smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

"Of course, Corey, but when you do…a lot of things that I'm saying will make a lot more sense, I promise."

Corey put his hands behind his head as he continued his little walk through the stadium, thinking about what Mukuro had said.

_Love, huh? I wonder if Derek and Jade are feeling that kind of stuff, too? Eh…it's all Greek to me._

He kept walking until he saw three more familiar faces; Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama. The three were talking at a table. Corey was hesitant at joining them at first, but when he saw that they were all smiling (well, he assumed Yusuke was) he decided why not. He crossed over to them and grinned,

"What's up?" Corey asked. They turned to look at him, and nodded to him in greeting.

"Hello, Corey. Please. Join us." Kurama said, offering Corey a spot at the table. He nodded and took it, feeling an odd sense of pride, being at a table with three of the most powerful demons he knew.

"What're you guys up to?" Corey asked, placing his arms on the table and leaning in a bit.

"Oh, just talking about times past." Yusuke said, "Past cases and what not. At the moment, it was the Chapter Black case." Corey blinked, looking fairly confused.

"What's…Chapter Black?" Corey asked.

"Chapter Black…it a video recording of all the past wrong doings of humans." Hiei said, calmly, "The Christian slaughters… the Holocaust… everything that humans have done that show the true darkness of them." Hiei merely smirked at it, while Corey's eyes had grown wide.

"So…it really shows all of that?" Corey asked, and Kurama nodded to him.

"Yes…it is said that the video runs for hundreds of hours, and it is never to be watched without the other tapes. You see, Corey, it is a set, and meant only to be seen as such. If you were to watch it by itself…you'd go mad." Kurama reached over and took a sip of tea, which Corey just noticed. He gulped and nodded,

"So…what does this tape have to do with a past case?" he asked. It was Yusuke's turn to speak now, and he cleared his throat and spoke,

"A man by the name of Shinobu Sensui, an ex-spirit detective, stole the tape 8 years prior to the actual case. He had gone mad from something he had seen during those years, and quit being a detective soon after that. He then reappeared during my days as a detective, right after the Dark Tournament. His plan was to open the gate to the Demon World, unleashing the strongest demons around."

"Wait…but I thought that the gate was destroyed, but then Shura made a new one. That's why no one from here could help us with him!" Corey interrupted. That's what Kurama had told him, anyways. Kurama nodded,

"Correct, but during the war of the Demon World between the three kings, times were different and demons would more then gladly attack the Human Realm."

"Wow…that's crazy. Sensui musta been a wacko." Corey said, looking between the three. They all nodded.

"Yea…and it was then that I realized that I was half demon, thanks to Sensui killing me and Raizen's dormant blood." Yusuke said, and then looked over at Corey who had a blank look on his face. They all laughed, "That's a story for another time. Come, Corey. Are you all prepared for our match in two days?"

"Oh yea!" Corey said, grinning and feeling better that the conversation had switched to something he actually knew, "I'm ready to kick your ass, Yusuke!" They all laughed again, which made Corey frown, "What?"

"Don't forget, Corey, Yusuke has quite the experience on you. I only wish that I had decided to fight this year, and show him what's what." Hiei stated.

Yusuke looked at him and gave him a big pat on the back and chuckled.

"Fat chance there, Hiei! Actually, we've only fought twice I just realized!" he laughed even louder, "And I won both!" Hiei glared over at him,

"Don't start that again, detective! The second was a draw!"

"Whatever you say, Hiei!" Yusuke said, still laughing. Kurama chuckled and leaned into Corey, whispering to him.

"They've always been like this. I am glad to see that their friendship hasn't faltered any." Corey laughed and put his hands behind his head, watching the two demons argue.

_Looking at them, it reminds me of Derek and me! Crazy how that works…_

******

"Hey, Corey! Where've you been, man?" Derek asked as his friend walked back over to him, Liz and Jade. Corey looked up and smiled at his friends,

"Oh, just around." He said simply, walking into their little circle.

"Find anything interesting?" Liz asked, smiling.

"Not really. Just talking to people, that's all." Corey once again replied simply. The other three looked at one another and shrugged.

"So, Corey, what is your plan for the fight? You haven't even discussed it with us." Derek said, pointing at Corey with his left hand.

"Well…I plan on going in there, throw a bunch of punches, shoot him with my Spirit Gun, and hope for the best!" he said, snickering.

"Jeez, Corey, why not just go in without a weapon!" Liz said, glaring at him. The man just laughed and grinned over at her,

"I have for the other three matches! Maybe I will!" Corey said, starting to walk off, the others following him. He smiled a bit, looking up at the sky.

_Not that I actually would fight without Tetsaru…not a chance in hell. Yusuke is going to be a tough opponent, and I don't even know if I can even stand toe to toe with him…_

******

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the final match of the Demon World Tournament! This year we have quite an interesting match up!" Koto yelled from the center arena. "On my left, the creator of this tournament from 75 years ago, and the winner of it a few years back, the great Yusuke Urameshi!" and the crowd cheered loudly. Yusuke was still standing in his cloak and hood, standing there with his hands at his side.

"And now on my right, the first human to ever be accepted into the Demon World Tournament, the Spirit Detective of Earth, Corey Kartana!" There were cheers, but not as many as Yusuke got. Corey grinned and held up his hands.

Instead of his usual Gi that he had been wearing the whole tournament, he wore the same fighting clothes that he wore against Shura: A black leather jacket, a t-shirt, tennis shoes and jeans. On his hands was a pair of black leather gloves, with no fingers on them. He gripped the hilt of the Tetsaru tightly. His hair was spiked up, as well. He grinned over at Yusuke,

"Ready to eat some pavement?" asked Corey. Yusuke smiled under his cloak.

"If you can…I notice your not wearing your fighting Gi." He said, pointing at him. Corey looked at his clothes and then back up at him, pointing the tip of his sword at him.

"Yeah, well these are my first fighting clothes, and this jacket is from Gero. I like people seeing the real me." Corey said.

Yusuke smiled at him and held the edges of his hood,

"Then perhaps, people should see the real me as well." And then he threw off the cloak he wore.

The man before him had jet-black hair that went down to his shoulders. He had a bit of a beard, more rough then long. He wore a fighting Gi that looked identical to Corey's old one, white with a green belt. His body had odd tattoos on them, mostly on his arms. He smirked at Corey and held up his hand.

"Bring it on, m'boy." Yusuke told him, and Corey frowned, holding his blade at ready position. The barrier demons, who had been circling around the arena and suddenly, blared up a force field.

"Now, let the last match of the Demon World Tournament, begin!!"


	13. The Final Round

_**Chapter 13**_

_The Final Match: Student vs. Teacher_

"Let's go!!" Corey yelled, letting the spirit energy around him explode. Yusuke smiled at him, and let his own demon energy flex as well. The two energies blasted at each other, swarming around.

Unfortunately for Corey, Yusuke's was much more powerful. It began to push the boy back, and the only thing he could do was hold up his arms in defense.

"Gah!" Corey grunted as he was pushed backwards. Yusuke smirked and kept it up, until Corey started to go towards the edge. Not that it would matter…there was no ring outs in the finals. The only way to win was to knock out or stay down for a ten count, and Corey wasn't planning on doing the second. He was going to win, or get the crap beat out of him trying.

Yusuke suddenly stopped the attacks of energy, and Corey stumbled forward, letting his go down as well.

"What's the hold up?" Corey asked, gripping the hilt of his blade.

"Just…making this more fun." Yusuke replied, "Having just an energy battle wouldn't be fun, right?"

"Ha! You're right!" Corey called back, and ran towards him, "Let's get this on!" He jumped towards him and swiped his sword at Yusuke, who merely moved to his right.

Frowning, Corey kept up his attacks with the blade, swinging with brilliance. Against any other opponent, the attacks would probably be hitting, but against this demon…it wasn't going to be that easy.

"You're fast, Corey, but not quick enough!" Yusuke brought up his leg right after Corey made another swing and in a fraction of a second, he kicked him hard in the stomach.

"Gah!" Corey choked up blood, being shot across the tournament arena and into the barrier, which also shocked him slightly. He landed in the grass, and wiped a bit of blood off of his lip…and he was still smiling.

"Nice hit!" He called over to his teacher and jumped back onto the arena platform. Yusuke grinned at him,

"Well, I'm glad to see you survived it." Yusuke aid, and flexed his energy a bit. Corey frowned and did the same.

******

"Aw, man… Corey…" Derek mumbled, watching from sidelines. "What're you doing?" He touched the hilt of his katana, and then looked at Jade, who also looked worried.

"I don't think Corey is going to make it…" she said quietly. Derek frowned and looked down at the arena as Corey and Yusuke flexed their powers.

_Corey's power is only like a fourth to Yusuke's…he wont be able to win with energy attacks. His only chance is to be sneaky…_

******

Corey suddenly had a thought, and it showed on his face. Yusuke blinked and looked at him.

"What are you thinking?" He asked, smirking at him. Corey smirked lightly.

"You'll see…" He then took off right at Yusuke. The older demon frowned and watched him carefully. Corey was dodging and zigzagging all about, making it hard for Yusuke to follow.

_What're you doing, Corey?_ Yusuke thought to himself, watching Corey move right to left and what not.

Finally, he stopped, and slammed the blade right into the ground. He then grabbed onto the hilt with his left hand and with pure strength, lifted himself so that his feet were on the edge of the blade while he gripped onto the hilt. He then proceeded to thrust himself at Yusuke at full speed. All of this occurred in less then five seconds.

_That wont do anything….what?!_ Corey held out his right hand, and it already had a fully charged Spirit Gun on the tip of his index finger. He grinned,

"Spirit Gun!!" He yelled, blasting it point blank at Yusuke. The explosion caused the entire arena behind Yusuke to be destroyed, debris hitting the barrier behind them. Corey landed and smirked,

"Take that, old man." Corey said.

The dust cloud soon vanished, and Corey's eyes widened. Yusuke stood there, pretty much unscathed. His shirt had been blown of, and there was a red mark on his chest, but besides that he was fine. He smiled at Corey,

"Good shot, Corey. Very nice." He wiped himself off and held up his hands, gripping them into fists, "Round two."

It was now Yusuke's turn to attack. He was fast…way faster then Corey. His punches were swift and precise, and all Corey could do to defend against it was hold up his sword with one hand, and block with the other while trying to dodge with his feet. His eyes were wide, and he knew he couldn't keep this up for long.

******

"Heh…this brings back memories…" Hiei said with humor. Mukuro looked at him, then back down at the match.

"Yes…Yusuke and Yomi 75 years ago, except this time, its Yusuke's turn to be the dominant fighter." She said with a smile, "And just like Yusuke before him, Corey isn't one to just back down."

"Yes…but I wonder what Corey will do." Hiei commented, rubbing his chin.

******

Derek glared at the fight below him, wondering what he could do.

_What can I do…I have to help him somehow…wait…_ He looked down at his katana and grinned. He touched the hilt and closed his eyes. His demonic aura began to absorb around him and the blade. Jade looked at him and blinked,

"Derek what're you doing?" she asked quickly. Derek opened and eye and smiled at her,

"Helping out Corey, that's what."

******

_Damn! I can't keep this up! He's too…_ Before he could even finish the thought, Corey was punched hard in the side of the face, sending him down hard into the ground. Yusuke then gave him a hard kick to the side, sending the young man rolling across the arena. He stopped and lay there for a moment, but then slowly rose, blood running down his forehead and lip.

"Corey…how does it feel?" Yusuke asked, smiling at him. Corey paused for a moment, then grinned widely.

"Heh…like a freakin' roller coaster, and I wanna go again." He spit out some blood and gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Corey!!!" screamed a voice from his side. Both Corey and Yusuke looked, and there was Derek at the sideline of the barrier, holding his katana, and it was blazing with demon energy.

"Catch!!" He then threw his katana right through the barrier, the blade landing right next to Corey, who was now smirking.

"Heh…thanks, pal…but," he looked at Yusuke, "Is this legal?" Yusuke was laughing at this point. When he stopped, he smiled and nodded,

"Yes, Corey. It's fine. Go for it. You must always fight with what you get." He stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

Corey nodded and smiled, then grabbed the blade with his left hand. Just as he does, the demon energy flowed through and around him. At that moment, Yusuke's eyes widened.

_What's this? The two energies are mixing…can Corey really do that? This kid…_ Yusuke smiled and watches as Corey held out both blades. The blue energy that was once his spiritual power began to mix with that of the red demon energy of Derek's katana. It soon became a golden color.

"Whoa…this is new…" Corey said with a smile, feeling the new surge of energy rush through him, "What the hell is this called?"

"Sacred Energy…" Yusuke said, catching Corey's attention, "Only two people besides yourself have done achieved it that I know of: Shinobu Sensui, and myself. Of course, ours is because of a mix of demon and spirit energy, but they have the same qualities." Yusuke smiled and cracked his knuckles.

"Now it gets fun. If I'm right, then you probably only have a few minutes of that energy, so use it well." Yusuke's demon energy then blasted around him. Corey grinned and nodded,

"Then I guess I better put it to good use!" He yelled, letting the sacred energy blast around him. The two energies collided, but instead of Yusuke's overpowering his, they seemed almost equal.

******

"Yea!!! Go, Corey!" Derek called out with Jade. "You can do it buddy!"

******

"Wow…I didn't see that coming," Kurama said, walking into the booth with Hiei and Mukuro, who didn't even turn.

"Yes…Corey receiving powers similar to that of Sacred Energy was not expected. Yusuke might actually have to try now." Hiei said, smiling even more now.

******

And then, the two were off. Having sheathed both blades (Tetsaru in it's sheath, and Derek's katana in his belt loop) the two began blasting each other with punches. Golden and red energy sparked everywhere in the arena.

Corey delivered a powerful blow right into Yusuke's face, causing blood to spur out of his mouth. Yusuke countered with a vigorous punch into Corey's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He then delivered a kick to Corey's ribs, making him slide back, but Corey had recovered quickly.

He drew both blades now, sending more golden energy into the air, and attacked. He swung both with brilliance, but Yusuke frequently dodged all the blows, except the last that sliced right into Yusuke's right arm. He winced, and blood ran freely down his arm. Corey grinned and jumped back, avoiding a kick from Yusuke that could knock off a normal persons skull.

"Well, well. Guess you do have skill, kid." Yusuke said, just letting the blood run freely.

"Yea, well, thanks I guess. You did train me after all." Corey retorted with a smile.

"Yes, well, I'm not about to let the student surpass the teacher quite yet. It's time to…kick it up a notch." He smiled, and the demon energy rose even higher. Corey grinned and nodded,

"All right, then!" but he was too cocky. He only blinked, and Yusuke was right in front of him. He just as quickly punched Corey's right hand hard, sending the Tetsaru spinning out of his hand and out of the barrier. Corey's eyes widened, leaving him with only his friend's katana to defend him.

_Yusuke's power…it's…it's incredible! _He thought to himself. Yusuke grinned at him and delivered a mass amount of blows right into Corey's gut, then one last powerful one to send him flying into the air. Blood poured out of his mouth as he did. Gritting his teeth as he flew into the air, and pointed his right index finger directly at Yusuke.

"Spirit Gun!!" He screamed, and instead of a blue bullet of spiritual energy, a golden one blasted out of his finger. Yusuke's eyes widened, and the blast hit hard. A cloud of debris filled the area, completely covering the arena. Everything was engulfed in it.

******

"Holy shit!!" Derek yelled, amazed at the sight he just saw. "That's…amazing!"

"Yes," Jade said also in quite a bit of shock, "I've never seen such destruction." The two merely watched in shock, wondering what happened to the two fighters.

******

"Ripper! That's quite a sight!" Chu called out, rooting the whole way. Jin floated next to him, grinning and his ears were twitching,

"Aye! Urameshi and Kartana are quite the fighters! Same moves, same strategies…this is great!" He said in his thick Irish accent. Hokashin walked up and stood next to the two, smiling,

"Lord Urameshi…Corey…both of you. I hope this battle can end well."

******

The smoke began to clear as minutes went by, but still no sign of either fighter. The crowed had gone silent as they watched. Even the announcer was dead silent. Finally, a figure emerged through the dust.

It was Corey, standing there with Derek's katana hanging loosely in his hand. After another moment, another figure was walking towards him. Yusuke. He smiled at Corey, blood running down his arm and chest. Both fighters were soaked in it, and covered in bruises and sweat. Corey was breathing much more heavily then Yusuke was.

At that moment, Corey stabbed the katana into the ground and pressed the back of his left foot against it, and held up his right hand, holding it with his left.

"Yusuke… let's do this. One final attack… Spirit Gun vs. Spirit Gun." Corey declared, smiling lightly. Yusuke blinked once and then grinned, nodding.

"All right, Corey…" he said, holding up his own right hand and shaping it into the form of a gun, just as Corey did the same, "Let's do it."

Both began to charge their bullets. A golden aura fused around Corey's, as a red aura around Yusuke's. It was the first time that Corey had seen the end of Yusuke's spirit gun.

******

"This is it…both are going to use all their power into one final shot!" Hiei said quickly, watching with full intent.

"Yes…this is the final round." Kurama said, nodding.

******

"Corey! Do it, pal!" Derek shouted.

"You can win!" Yelled Jade.

"Do it Corey!" Liz screamed.

******

"Do it, ya'll rippers!" Chu yelled in a near drunk rage.

"Aye this is gonna be a biggie!" Jin agreed.

******

"You ready?!" Corey yelled, the aura around his finger as big as he was going to get it, the size of his body.

"Of course!" Yusuke shouted, his energy the same size as Corey's.

And they shot.

"Spirit Gun!!!" They both yelled at the same time. The golden and red bullets both hit each other at the center of the arena, and caused an explosion that completely annihilated the ring.

Corey and Yusuke both held their spots, Corey's foot digging into the katana that kept him steady. The two energies blasted around each other, fighting one another to gain control of the other. This lasted for a good three minutes, until finally, the katana slipped and went flying into the air out of anyone's eye sight.

This caused the Sacred Energy around Corey to vanish, leaving him only with Spirit Energy, which just wasn't enough to stop Yusuke's demon energy. The bullet over took Corey's, and blasted right into him, leaving Yusuke standing there as he watched the spot where Corey was cover in debris.

_Corey…_ he thought to himself, but then his eyes widened.

Through the rubble, Corey emerged. His shirt and jacket were both gone, and his pants were completely torn up. His hair was down due to sweat.

"Well…I guess I'm not done just yet…" Corey said quietly, breathing heavily. Yusuke sighed and began to walk forward.

"Corey…I'm sorry…" Yusuke knew he had to finish this, or Corey would work himself to death.

He ran quickly to him, grabbed his shirt by the collar, and gave him one punch in the stomach to make him get a little airtime. Yusuke gave one last nod, and jumped into the air, doing a bit of a back flip and delivering a double kick underneath Corey's chin, causing his eyes to white out and he fell backwards. He landed on the ground, not moving.

"Corey is down! One…two…three…four!" The announcer started to call out. Yusuke watched Corey in silence, who did not move at all, "Eight…nine…and ten! And the winner of the Demon World Tournament, is Yusuke Urameshi!!" with an exhale of air, Yusuke walked forward and picked him up. Corey winced, and looked up at Yusuke, blood still trickling down his chin.

"Y-yusuke…" he tried to say, but Yusuke shook his head.

"Hey. You did great, Corey. I'm proud of you." He said, but Corey slowly shook his head.

"No… it's… Derek's katana. He'll… want it back…" And at that moment, Corey passed out, and Yusuke heard the katana that had flown into the air stab into the ground, thus truly ending the Demon World Tournament.


	14. Tournament's End

_**Chapter 14**_

_The Tournament's End_

Corey slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a hospital bed. He sat up slowly, and found his shirt off and his body bandaged. For whatever reason, it didn't hurt too much. Sitting next to him, were Kurama and Liz. They both noticed Corey sitting up at the same time, and smiled.

"Corey! You're up!" Liz said, setting a book down that she was reading, standing up and walking over to his bed. Kurama was stood as well and walked to the other side.

"What happened? Where the hell am I?" Corey asked, still groggy from being asleep.

"You're in the hospital wing in the stadium. You've been asleep for five days, Corey."

"Five days?! Are you serious??" Corey asked in shock. Kurama nodded and Corey blinked a few times, "Wow…so, what happened? Where is everyone?"

"Derek and Jade are out with each other getting some food. They've been here pretty much the whole time. We took shifts watching you, Corey." Liz said with a smile.

"Yusuke is getting all the information he is going to need from the Demon Council, a committee similar to the Senate in Human World." Kurama added, and then smiled, "You gave him quite a run for his money, Corey. Even he slept for a few days after your battle."

Corey was silent for a few moments, trying to recap everything that had happened. It was all a little hazy, but then the fight came back to him. The final attack with the Spirit Gun, Derek's katana, and finally Yusuke decking him.

"So what happens next?" Corey asked finally, looking over at Kurama, who gave him a smile.

"The Demon's Festival begins."

******

Roars of laughter and yelling were heard as Corey, Liz and Kurama entered the banquet hall of the stadium. Banners with Yusuke's name on them and the Stone Kingdom's symbol were placed all around. Demons wandered in and out, all of them getting drunk from the free liquor. Corey spotted Chu having a drinking contest with one of the larger demons, and winning. It was large enough to fit thousands of demons, and yet right at the entrance were Derek and Jade.

"Corey!" They both said, grinning and going over to their friend. Derek gently patted Corey on the back, and Jade reached over and hugged him. He winced lightly, but still smiled. He was up and walking okay, but his body was still sore from the battle.

"So…what do we do in this festival?" Corey asked, looking between his friends.

"What else? Party!" Derek said, laughing. And they did. The festival went on for most of the night. Corey and his friends partied for the entire time.

Corey met up with Jessica, the girl from his first fight, and the two of them danced and enjoyed themselves. She told him that there was always the next tournament for him to be king. Liz hung out with Kurama, asking him questions about the Demon World and who knows what else. Derek and Jade, well…they slipped off for a more private time once the party had began to boom…

******

The night had settled down, and Derek leaned over and kissed Jade on the cheek, wrapping his arm around her. The blanket of the bed kept them both comfortably warm. She smiled and looked over at him, kissing him back. Derek smirked and got out of bed, dressing himself in sweat pants and looking back over to Jade, who was in a robe now. They took hands and walked out onto the balcony of the establishment, and looked out onto the sky. It was a full moon, one of the only times that Demon World actually had a night, and it was beautiful.

"Jade?" Derek asked, almost hesitantly, looking at her. She blinked and looked towards him,

"Yes?" she asked, smiling pleasantly. Derek started to turn a little bit red, but then took her hand and faced her.

"Well…we've been together for, uhh, about a year and a half now."

"Right…"

"Yea, and I really like you. I mean…really like you." He couldn't find the words.

"Derek…where are you going with this?"

"Umm, well…oh, hell I'm just going to say it. Jade, I'm in love with you, and I, well…" he then started to slowly kneel down, and Jade's eyes widened. "I want you to marry me."

"D-derek! I…I…" she looked down at him, and slowly pulled him up and nodded. "Yes…I will." Derek smiled wide at her and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply on the lips. Over on the balcony next to theirs, Corey snickered lightly at the two of them. They were so wrapped up in their moment they didn't even notice.

_So Derek's getting married…good for him._ He thought with a smile, and then turned back to his own room, where Jessica was fast asleep in his bed. Corey smiled and crawled into bed with her, and closed his eyes.

_I might not have that whole love thing, but I'm happy for the two of them. It's all good…_ and he slowly fell asleep as well.

******

"Sooo…Derek! How's it goin' buddy?" Corey asked his friend as he came down to the concessions area. Even with the tournament over, there were still a few more ceremonies left to do. A lot of the demons that had only come for the fighting were gone, but quite a few still remained. Derek looked at Corey and blinked,

"Good…how about with you?" He asked, curious as to what Corey was in such a good mood about.

"Oh…pretty good. Jessica came to my room last night and, well, you know." He laughed a bit, and Derek smirked.

"Ah. Nice, nice." He said, grabbing a cup of coffee and taking a drink.

"Yea. So…did you have anything interesting happen to you last night?" Corey asked, taking a gulp of his own coffee, and grinning. Derek eyed him suspiciously.

"No…why?"

"Oh, no reason. But your sure nothing happened. Nothing that might change your life forever?" Corey grinned, and then Derek suddenly caught on.

"You! How…how did you know that I…Jade and me…" He stammered on. He hadn't planned on telling anyone as of yet. Corey laughed and put his hands behind his head.

"Come on, dude! It's me! I'm freakin' awesome like that!" he laughed again and Derek stood up, red in the face and started to walk off. Corey got up and quickly followed after him. "So hey…lemme ask you something."

"What?" Derek asked, frowning and still completely red.

"Well, your getting married and all…your gonna need a best man."

"Your right…maybe I'll ask Kurama or Hiei." Derek said, now smirking. It was Corey's turn to frown.

"Aw, come on, man. We're best friends! I gotta be your best man."

"I dunno…we may be best friends, but I don't know if your best man material…" he laughed and ran off. Corey stopped and glared at him.

"Derek, you bastard!" he yelled and ran off after him, smirking a bit as he did.

******

"I present to you all, the king of Demon World, Yusuke Urameshi!!" the crowd cheered fanatically as Yusuke stepped forward. He had completely lost the hood, but still wore a cloak. It was nice looking, a lot better then his original one.

It was the final day of the ceremonies, and Yusuke was made to stand in front of the entire crowd. Corey watched from the back with Liz, Jade and Derek. Kurama was off doing an errand for Spirit World, but he said he'd be back in a few hours to bring them back to the Human World.

It was finally time to head back. Derek and Jade were, of course, holding hands. Liz smiled and stood a foot away from them, but Corey was in the back. A small frown was on his lips, and he didn't really know why. He was happy he had fought a good fight, but something just felt off, or unfinished.

While Yusuke made a speech about the three worlds, Corey decided to duck off. Derek looked back at him as he did,

"Corey? Where you off to, man?" he asked. Corey stopped and turned around, giving his friend an obviously fake smile.

"Aw, I hate speeches. I'm gonna go for a walk. Later." And he walked off. Derek and the two girls watched him leave.

"Is he okay?" Jade asked, looking up at her fiancé.

"He's upset because he lost." Derek stated, knowing his best friend only too well.

"But he did so well!" Liz defended, but Derek still just shook his head,

"Doesn't matter. He lost. He'll be fine after awhile, but Corey just needs to blow off some steam…"

******

Corey sighed as he walked down the aisle of the tournament stadium and into the ring, hopping the railing to do so. He stood at the side of it, just looking around.

"Guess there is always next time…" he said aloud.

"Not for you, Kartana…" Corey's eyes widened at the sound of the eerie voice that came from behind him, sending a chill up his spine. Corey slowly turned around and took a step back when he saw whom it was.

The hooded figure from Human World.

"You…" Corey said quietly, clenching his fingers into a fist, "I was wondering if I'd ever see your creepy ass again."

"There's no need for jokes, Kartana. Besides…you might want to save your breath for your prayers…" he began to laugh. The laugh that had haunted Corey's dreams for nearly a year.

"Shut…up!" the young man yelled, and ran towards the hooded figure and threw a right handed punch right at him, and just like last time, all Corey did was hit air. He froze and began to shake lightly as he heard the figure speak behind him.

"Oh, you did get better, but not good enough to beat me. At least, not yet…but that's why I'm here, Corey. To get rid of you now before you have the chance to get stronger."

"Stronger? I'm plenty strong enough now…to kick your ass!" He swung back his leg to give the figure a sneak kick, but he vanished to a few yards away from the human. He quickly stood up straight and held up his fists.

"Hardly…" the hooded man said, "Your power…is nothing compared to my own." And then Corey felt it.

The sudden rush of energy that the hooded figure was emitting. It wasn't spiritual, or demon, or sacred. The young man had never felt this kind of energy before. It was new…and terrifying. He was sweating with fear and anxiety.

"You…fucker!!" Corey swore as he turned and extended his right index finger, spiritual energy charging in it, but the hooded man had already sprung his attack. He held out his own hand, it looked old and rotten, and a green energy surged out of it.

Corey's eyes widened and he shot the spirit bullet right at it. The two energies collided, but the green energy continued moving to Corey at great speed, although it had blue electricity running through it now. The boy tried to get out of the way, but like a trap it caught him inside of it.

"Dammit!! Let…me…out!!" Corey yelled, his eyes wide in panic, but the hooded man just laughed cruelly, but only for a moment. He then looked directly at Corey.

"Kartana…there is a purpose for me doing this…" the figure said softly, walking towards Corey, whose eyes were just staring at him.

"Oh yea? What's that…besides the fact that you're a head case?" Corey asked, trying to spark courage through sarcasm.

"There is…a prophecy…" he started, looking right at Corey. Through the hood, Corey saw his eyes began to glow red, "That one day, I am to be defeated by two warriors named Kartana and Maison…"

"What!? How the hell would you know that? Why would Derek and me be in some stupid prophecy?!" Corey yelled, struggling to get out of the orb with his spiritual energy, but to no prevail.

"I saw into my own future, boy…I saw two figures by those names defeating me, but I will not let that happen. I will send you somewhere where you cannot do me any harm…" And after that last word, he snapped his fingers.

That's when the pain started. It felt like Corey was being shocked by lightning, and it was going all through his body.

"Whaaaaaaaaa!!!" He screamed, his eyes whitening out.

******

Derek ran quickly with Yusuke and Hiei following right behind him, Kurama, Mukuro, Jade and Liz not to far after that.

_That energy…that was Corey's Spirit Gun, but what the hell was that other power? Shit!!_ They ran into the stadium and stopped at the sight below them in the arena.

There was a hooded figure, holding out his right arm, and Corey in a circular green bubble, screaming in pain.

"Corey!!" Derek yelled, and ran towards the arena, Liz and Jade right behind him. Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama remained still, just watching for now. The figure seemed to look up at them and laughed even louder. He looked back at Corey.

"Good bye, Kartana." And with another snap of his fingers, Corey and the orb of energy vanished without a trace. Everyone was stunned for a moment, just looking in disbelief at what had just happened.

"Nooooo!!" Derek screamed as he made it to the arena, standing right where Corey was. "You…bastard!! Where the hell is Corey?!" He withdrew his katana and held it at ready.

"No need for that, Maison…your friend is gone. Don't expect to see him again!" And he began to laugh again.

"Fuck you!!" Derek roared and ran at him, but the figure vanished into thin air before he could get his swing across. "Dammit!!"

Derek fell to his knees, looking down at the ground. Jade and Liz both ran to him, trying to find where their friend was. Derek growled lowly, then gripped his fist and punched the ground with such force that a small crater was created.

"I _will_ see him again…you hear me?! I will!!"

******

Yusuke and Hiei stood silent for a moment; as Kurama went down to comfort the younger ones. Hiei looked over at Yusuke,

"Well…what do you think?" he asked in a low voice.

"I don't know…" Yusuke admitted, "Whatever energy that was, it was no human's or demons."

"And what does that mean for Corey?" Hiei asked, more sharply this time.

"Again…I don't know." He closed his eyes for a moment, just thinking.

_Corey…what happened to you??_

**To Be Continued…**

**Corey Kartana has mysteriously vanished within the Tournament's Arena, and his assailant has also gone astray, leaving Derek Maison and the others dumbfounded. What happened to Corey? Is it possible that the hooded figure sent him into another dimension? Or simply killed him? And what of the Prophecy that was mentioned about the only two who can defeat the evil being are Kartana and Maison? The Saga of the two Spirit Detectives continues in…The End of Three Worlds!**


End file.
